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 4972 results

3851. Why Cheerful Givers are Cheerful

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... Jack said, "Well, find me one and let''s get started." Jack Benny was just kidding, but it''s rare to find a wealthy person who has not allowed money to make him or her tightfisted. One day, as he was leaving his New York office, John D. Rockefeller was stopped by a stranger who told him a hard-luck story--a clear fabrication --and followed it with a pitch for money. The oil magnate was not taken in. "But Mr. Rockefeller," the man pleaded, "I walked 20 miles from my home to come here. Everyone I met on the ...

3852. Proving Your Love

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... to stretch his soul?’" Stretching our souls! Think of it! What a glorious expression for a glorious feeling. That’s only a second best reason for generous giving. The best reason for generous giving is the generosity of God Himself. The Son of God did not stop with giving as we often are urged to do, "a systematic and proportionate share," of himself for us. No, he gave everything. So we may give at the level of obligation or the level of generosity, BUT THE THIRD LEVEL OF GIVING IS THE GREATEST OF ALL ...

3853. Forgiveness: Human and Divine

Matthew 6:12-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... do wrong. It is that high-handed sin the Bible talks about in the Old Testament. God talks about people committing high-handed sin, deliberate and mean-spirited, with a hard-hearted attitude that proclaims, "I''m going to do what I want when I want it, and nobody can stop me." Then there''s that fifth word for sin which means a debt or a duty which we owe to God or to others. Sin again at its very root is our puny self trying to take the place of God, pushing God to the side, ignoring His instructions and ...

3854. Because He Lives

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... RISEN CHRIST. Christ promised us that because he lives so too shall we live. That is because the risen Christ lives in our hearts. George Buttrick told about the day when George Borrow was walking through some fields in Wales when he came upon some gypsies. He stopped and began a conversation with them. When he started to leave, they begged him to stay. Then they said, "It was kind of you to come...that you might bring us God." Borrow explained that he was neither a priest nor a preacher. But they begged ...

3855. Every Exit an Entrance

Isaiah 20:1-5

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... . First, one bare foot and then the other was lifted for a moment and pressed against his leg to get a little warmth. Every few minutes his shrill cry could be heard, "Morning papers! Morning papers!" A gentleman, who was well protected by his coat and umbrella, stopped to buy the early edition. Noticing the boy''s discomfort, he said, "This kind of weather is pretty hard on you, isn''t it?" Looking up with a cheery smile, the youngster replied, "I don''t mind too much, mister. The sun will shine again!" (3 ...

3856. On Not Losing Heart

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Eulogy

Edward Inabinet

... there. One story was about a pastor named Ngonga whose wife had died. Great crowds of people came to the funeral. They sat on the ground and began to wail, Christians and pagans alike. Ngonga loved his wife and that day he stood by the coffin and cried out, "Stop all this yelling and howling." The people were shocked into silence, and then he said, "This woman was a child of God. She has gone home to her Father. Today, we are not crying, we are singing." Then he started singing and they joined him in a song ...

3857. THE DESIRE OF YOUR HEART

Drama

Angela Akers

... were allowed to criticize wishes." Genie: "I''m a genie. I could turn you into a grilled cheese sandwich if I felt like it." Woman: "Okay, okay, I''ll change my wish." Genie: "Good." Woman: "I want--" Genie: (with fingers in its ears) "Stop! Don''t say it! You were going to say, fame'' weren''t you?" Woman: "Well, yes." Genie: "Well, then, I won''t listen to you. I refuse." Woman: "What''s so bad about fame?" Genie: "First, I suspect that what you really want ...

3858. THE EXHAUSTION OF THE EVERYDAY

Drama

Angela Akers

... Like you don''t matter to anyone? Or, like you don''t know why you get up every day and keep doing the same old things. You''ve got lists of stuff you''ve been doing all your life, that you just have to get done, and one day you stop and think, What does it matter if I get any of this done, or not?" (She laughs self-consciously.) "Does that sound crazy?" Phil: (hesitantly) "No, that''s not crazy. I think I''ve felt like that before, too." Woman: "So you know what I mean? You know what it ...

3859. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS...

Drama

Angela Akers

... asked for was a king. But God knew what they really needed, so He sent them a Savior. Sometimes the gift that looks worthless is a lot better than we could ever imagine. Son: I think I understand. I''ll go thank Grandma and Grandad. (He starts to walk off, stops and turns back to mother.) Pretty cool Christmas, huh?

3860. THE HOPE HE LEFT BEHIND

Drama

Angela Akers

... I can see their hearts. Like I can see their hearts breaking inside of them." Angel: "And do you know what''s in their hearts? You are. Your legacy. Your dream. Each and every one of those people will carry you in their hearts. But it won''t stop there. They''ll share your dream with others, they''ll pass it on to everyone around them. Martin, you helped to give those people the dream. You may be gone, but the dream is still there. In place of your one voice, a thousand other voices will ...

3861. RISK-FREE RESOLUTIONS

Drama

Angela Akers

... I suppose you''ve both made your New Year''s resolutions?" Mr. J: "Oh, yes, of course." Pastor: "And what did you resolve?" Mrs. J: "Well, after hearing you preach on `living up to our highest potential'', I was inspired to change health clubs, and also to stop biting my nails." Pastor: "Oh, well, isn''t that nice!" Mr. J: "I enjoyed that message, too. I''ve decided to enter this new year with high goals." Pastor: "That''s great! And what are those goals?" Mr. J: "Well, first I''d like to ...

3862. Father? Almighty?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... about, Can God do anything? A teacher once asked a Sunday School class, “Is there anything God cannot do?” One bright pupil replied, “Yes. He can’t please everybody!” That’s true. And there are other things God cannot do as well. God cannot stop being God. God cannot step out of character. God (we Christians believe) cannot ever be anything but Love. God’s Almightiness is limited by God’s Love. God has given us freedom, therefore, it is always possible that we may rebel against God and God ...

3863. Who Is Jesus Christ?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to dismiss Him as an impractical dreamer. The meek shall inherit the earth, He said. What nonsense! The powerful have inherited the earth—and they certainly aren’t meek. But wait a minute. In our day, as never before, we are coming to realize that unless we stop being belligerent and start being meek, there will be no earth left to inherit! Jesus said that they who take the sword will perish with the sword, and today the sword is a nuclear weapon, and His words are more true than ever! Jesus is the ...

3864. To Hell and Back

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... chance for redemption even after death? Most Christians over the centuries have believed so. Some have called it purgatory. Others have merely said that the gates of Hell have swinging doors on them, but most Christians have recoiled from the notion that God ever stops giving second chances to people. He who admonished Simon Peter not only to forgive seven times, but seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:22) can surely do no less Himself. But doesn’t this cut the nerve of evangelism? people ask. Why would ...

3865. Through the Eyes of an Eagle (Introduction)

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Jesus Through the Galilee, According to the Fourth Gospel, Corazin Publishing, 1992) Still, there are many differences between John and the other three Gospels. In our minds we usually “conflate” the Four Gospels into one continuous narrative, and thus do not stop to sort out which of the Gospels gives us which words and deeds of Jesus, and in what ways one gospel differs from another. Scholars, however, have spent lifetimes doing just this, and they have published volumes called “Gospel Parallels ...

3866. Christmas and the Condensed Bible

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... at Mary’s breast, who burped after meals, and who had to have His diapers changed on a regular basis! Luther put it that way, not simply because he was preoccupied with “gross” things (he was), but also because he wanted to make us stop short and really appreciate the wonder of it all, that God came and lived among us. The poet William Butler Yeats said that Christianity was distinguished from the Oriental religions in that what was philosophy in Eastern religion became biography in the Gospels. J ...

3867. Grace Is Not a Blue-eyed Blond

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , by well-meaning evangelical Christians. My favorite billboard is one which is on top of a motel along one of Michigan’s major highways. It says, “Prepare to meet thy God!” I am never sure what I am supposed to do when I see that sign. Perhaps I should stop and inquire as to whether God is registered at that motel. But do you see the implication behind the words? The implication is that meeting God is a real drag, and nobody would wish to do it except as a last resort, to avoid the flames of hell. It ...

3868. What about Spiritual Healing?

John 4:43-54

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... It is a really fascinating story! Again, I don’t really have much problem with the “healing miracle” here. I have seen many such things happen during my forty years in the ministry. “Coincidences?” Perhaps. But I’ve discovered a strange thing. When I stop praying, the incidence of coincidence goes down. One reason that I have little problem with Jesus’ healing miracles is that I do not believe that sickness is God’s will for us. If sickness were God’s will, then we might as well shut down ...

3869. To Who Can We Go?

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... that he was not actually a bona fide priest even though he was dressed like one. When they finally got to the village, the boy let loose of his hand, after giving it one final squeeze and went happily to his own home. Guinness said that he stopped there in the village square and began to think. That boy trusted him because he wore the uniform of someone who represented trust to him. He believed that Guinness was his father in God and trusted his life in his hands. Surely, Guinness thought, there must be ...

3870. Let the Son Shine In

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... translation which is carried over into the New Revised Standard Version as, “the dawn from on high.” Jesus Christ is the dawn of a new day. The dawn begins in subtle ways, almost unobserved it sneaks up upon us, but once it gets started, there is no stopping it. Clouds may come between us and the sun, but the sun still shines. We may not always see the work of Christ going on in the world, but it is there, often in silent, unobserved ways. Geologists tell us that in the Arctic region there are evidences ...

3871. Doors Are for Entering

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... we have come across some pretty obnoxious people who have talked about it too much. We are tired of people poking their noses into our souls and asking, “Are you saved?” I remember the story of a woman who was waiting for a bus at a bus stop in a large city, when she saw a prominent television evangelist coming her way. She braced herself for what she thought would be the inevitable question, and when he asked, “Is this the place to catch the bus for downtown?” she replied curtly, “That’s a ...

3872. How Do You Explain the Resurrection?

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... body had been taken down from the cross. “Is he dead?’ she asks. The soldier answers, “No, lady, he is not dead.” “Well, where is he, then?” she asks. And the soldier answers, “Let loose in the world, lady. Let loose in the world, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth!” Nor anyone else. Amen and amen.

3873. Love Is Extravagant

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... for Jim. So she did the only thing she could think of: she went out and sold her beautiful hair for twenty dollars. With the proceeds she bought Jim a platinum watch fob for his precious watch. Jim came home that night. When he saw Della’s shorn head he stopped as though struck with an axe. It was not that he did not like her new hair style or did not love her any more. Indeed, she was lovelier than ever to him. But slowly he handed her his gift. His gift was a set of expensive tortoise-shell hair ...

3874. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3) But I stop short. All of this is absurd and foolish, if Christ never came. Regretfully, I tell him that the secular government will now provide free funerals, without the religious trimmings, for those who need them. As the sad-faced man leaves, a young woman comes into the church. She has wasted ...

3875. The War of Malchus’ Ear

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... must be conducted by a duly recognized authority. 7.) The war must be fought in a “civilized” manner, and innocent civilians must be protected. Most proponents of the Just war theory would agree that if ever there were a just war, the campaign to stop Hitler was it. I must confess that I began my Christian life as an “absolute pacifist,” believing that I simply had to take Jesus literally when He said that we must love our enemies. In seminary, my reading of theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer ...

Showing results