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 3876 to 3900 of 4490 results

3876. Guarding the Treasure

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Most of us have a long list of passwords, PINs, and usernames to type into our cell phones, our computers, our ATMs, and a host of other gadgets. We need these to protect ourselves. Identity theft has become a serious problem. We have all seen the commercials on television of the person bragging about a dream vacation, but the voice coming out of the character's mouth is another person's voice. The character in the commercial is portraying an identity thief. In real life, identity theft is not as funny as ...

3877. The Place of Prayer

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

David J. Kalas

"Where is the place of prayer?" they asked. "We're looking for the place of prayer." It was Paul's first visit to the city of Philippi. He, Silas, Luke, and some other companions had come there to share the good news about Jesus. They wanted to start by going to the place of prayer. Originally, you recall, Paul and his companions had not intended to go to Philippi at all. They had been traveling and preaching exclusively in Asia Minor, when one night Paul had his vision of the man from Macedonia pleading ...

3878. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I am not a potter, and I do not play one on television! However, as a student of the scriptures and the life and times of the people in the biblical narrative, I can say with some certainty that crafting pottery is one of the world's oldest professions. Alongside bone and bricks, fragments of earthenware or pottery have long been gathered and studied by archeologists to understand something of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and nearly every other ancient culture throughout the world. Few of ...

3879. Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

A lifetime of bathrobe dramas known as “Christmas pageants” not to mention outdoor “living nativities” (one put on by teenagers witnessed Mary and one of the Wise Men furtively holding hands on their breaks – one can only wonder what the drive-bys and passer-bys thought) have willy-nilly shaped our pictures of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. It may seem, at times, that our Christmas “remembrance” is more shaped by culture than the actual scriptures themselves. In our mind’s eye we see Mary and Joseph ...

3880. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Excitement is building on this the third Sunday of Advent knowing that Christmas will soon be here. Children have made their Christmas wish lists of all the wonderful things they desire. Some might have had long lists while others might have subtracted an item or two, still others might have added a few more gifts during the past weeks. We have heard people ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” Most of us, young and old alike, have no problem sharing our wish list with anyone who asks. On our mad rush to ...

3881. Refresh Your Heart

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

You know the feeling. It is between 2 and 3 in the afternoon — the “pit in the pm” in the words of biorhythm experts. Energy ebbs. Eyelids sag. Your attention span becomes goldfish-short (3 seconds). You are wiped out, wozzy and snoozy. The urge to grab a cat-nap becomes overwhelming. God invented coffee, and energy drinks, for this time of day. Fighting fatigue we all look for ways to revive, reboot, refresh ourselves for the second half of our day. How many of us this morning long to revive, reboot, ...

3882. Putting the World Back Together

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David O. Bales

It’s too soon after the murder to mention the names of the people involved; so, the following names are changed. In a small town, Janice, a young grade school teacher, had tried to break off a dating relationship with a young man. The young man had serious mental illness. He shot and killed Janice; then committed suicide. Her parents, Jack and Maxine, were friends with the young man’s parents. In the midst of their grief Jack and Maxine got in their car and drove to call on his parents. No matter the ...

3883. Getting out of the Doldrums

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The classic children’s book, The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), tells the story of a young boy named Milo. One dull, rainy afternoon Milo receives the anonymous gift of a cardboard fold-and-cut tollbooth. Bored Milo builds the tollbooth and “drives through” it with his toy car. Immediately Milo disappears from his room and finds himself traveling along a strange road in a new land. But despite this miraculous relocation, as the road continues on and on, and the countryside rolls by and by, Milo begins to grow ...

3884. Duuuh!

John 14:15-31

Sermon

David O. Bales

If you’ve been around the Christian faith for a while, you’ve noticed how people pick what they like from the Bible. Like a giant magnet at a wrecking yard we each reach down into the material of the Bible and pick up only what we want — get the iron, leave the wood, paper, and plastics. We’re not convincing if we say, “I don’t do it but everyone else does.” We all do. It’s just that some are so obvious about it. I’ve dealt with two main types of Bible-selectors. One brand of Christian Bible-selector is ...

3885. Keep Watching, Keep Warning, Keep Chasing

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When you turn sixteen, what’s the most important thing in the world? Any 16-year-olds here? Anyone want to take on that question? That’s right. Getting your driver’s license. In most states, if you are under the age of eighteen, you now need to take “Driver’s Ed” before you can qualify for a driver’s license. That means students have already had to learn all the “rules of the road,” those traffic signs and signals that foretell and forewarn about what lies ahead on the highway. Reading the signs — those ...

3886. Locusts Happen

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Tony Everett

It was never this bad; not in their lifetime, not in anybody’s lifetime. It was so terrible that children would tell their children who would then tell their children about this time of thick clouds, darkness, and destruction. All the fields were devastated and the grain was ruined. Herds of cattle and sheep were dying of starvation. Fruit-bearing trees were splintered and drying up, withering away like the people’s joy. It seemed like the whole world was coming to a terrible end. Everyone was lamenting ...

3887. In the Mood for Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you can remember back in the 1970s when mood rings were a big fad (sort of like the pet rock). They were especially popular with young girls. The theory behind the mood ring was that body heat fluctuates with the emotional state of the wearer . . . and the ring was attuned to the body’s temperature. None of this was ever established scientifically, of course, but, like most fads, it provided some fun for people especially for comedians and cartoonists. For example, in a 1976 Peanuts comic strip, ...

3888. Jesus and the Man Born Blind

John 9:1-41

Sermon

James W. Moore

I came across a “fascinating list” that carried this intriguing title: “Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned.” Let me share a few of these “great truths” with you. (1) “ No matter how hard you try you cannot baptize a cat.” (2) “When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.” (3) “Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato… or an egg.” (4) “You can’t trust dogs to watch your food for you.” (5) “Don’t sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair.” (6) “School ...

3889. Envision: The Great Commandment

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James Merritt

Envision. Envision a church after God’s own heart. Envision a follower of Christ hitting on all eight-cylinders, being everything that God wants him to be, doing everything that God wants him to do, living a life of such passion, such power and such purpose that the people that he or she meets, where they live, where they work, and where they play are eternally impacted. We are convinced that such a church and such a Christ follower do three simple things: Love God, Serve Others, and Share Jesus. That is ...

3890. Dust Off The Throne

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

David J. Kalas

When I was a kid, my parents would host several Christmas parties each year — one for each of the adult Sunday school classes from our church. In preparation for each party, my mother would employ me in vacuuming the living room, mixing the punch, lighting the candles, and such. One task that invariably came before the first party of each Christmas season involved the silver tea set. It was a lovely set, but we seldom used it apart from the annual Christmas parties. Consequently, when December rolled ...

3891. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What’s in a name? Well, in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare thought that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But in San Quentin Live, Johnny Cash sang a ballad that showed how one guy’s life was completely skewed because he was a “Boy Named Sue.” Sometimes names really do matter. “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” In the Western Church we call this Sunday the “Second Sunday After Christmas.” The day after tomorrow, January 6, will be “Epiphany,” the official ...

3892. Traveling Tables

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

On average, you and I gained six pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. That is just the “average.” Some of us gained a lot more. No wonder the past few weeks every other commercial on TV or banner-ad online is about some kind of weight loss program. We are a nation collectively cringing about our six weeks of binging and feasting. I bring you good tidings of great joy: don’t feel guilty about it. Here’s an “indulgence” for your indulging. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s we have more face to face ...

3893. "Gotcha" Questions from Mean-Spirited People

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

It is that fateful final week of the earthly ministry of Jesus. On Sunday the people of Jerusalem welcome the Lord and his entourage with a parade. A crowd lines the main street. They cheer and spread their cloaks on the dusty road. Jesus rides a borrowed donkey. He comes down the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, through an ancient gate, and into the city. The crowd chants as he rides passed, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven ...

3894. The Good Samaritan (Revised Edition)

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

"Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." — Luke 10:36-37 It was a dark, rainy summer night on a remote road. David was driving home to his lake cottage after a movie in the resort village. Going around a corner he thought he saw it. He slowed, wondering if he had seen correctly. He stopped, backed up in the driving rain, then moved his car toward the edge of the road ...

3895. The First Christmas

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Sherwood Wirt captured the mood of that first Christmas in this description: The people of that time were being heavily taxed, and faced every prospect of a sharp increase to cover expanding military expenses. The threat of world domination by a cruel, ungodly, power-intoxicated band of men was ever just below the threshold of consciousness. Moral deterioration had corrupted the upper levels of society and was moving rapidly into the broad base of the populace. Intense nationalistic feeling was clashing ...

3896. Hagar and Sally

Galatians 4:21-31

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

4:21 Paul’s tone changes somewhat at this point, turning from a personal appeal back to an argument from Scripture (cf. 3:6–9) and to teaching what he and the Galatian believers already have in Christ. Paul begins with a direct address, Tell me, you who want to be under the law. The wording of the question critiques their desire, for Paul presents the law as something under which people are held. The passage beginning in this verse and extending to 5:1 works with several themes that have already been ...

3897. Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders

Joshua 23:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

Farewell Speech of Joshua: 23:1–5 Saying goodbye is difficult for everyone, leaders and followers. In Joshua 22 the time arrives for final farewells. The narrator does not tell readers when Joshua gave his farewell, but a long time had passed. Readers can know only that Israel had rest from their enemies and Joshua was well advanced in years (lit. days). Joshua summons the local leadership of the tribes—elders, leaders, judges, and officials—to hear his final words. He begins by calling them to reflect on ...

3898. Bringing Back the Ark

1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem: The four chapters under discussion in this section are often taken as a unit traditionally referred to as the “ark narrative.” Although there are different scholarly views on the existence of such an ark narrative and its divisions (see Additional Note on 13:1–16:43), the contents of these chapters deal mainly with the bringing of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The exception is 1 Chronicles 14 (taken over from the source text), which deals with seemingly unrelated ...

3899. Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Assignment of the Mission: 2:1–3 For some reason, Nehemiah had to wait four months after receiving the bad news about Jerusalem, before his chance came to present his case to the king. Verse 1 describes the procedure for serving the wine: servants brought it into the royal presence and Nehemiah poured it, probably after sampling it to check for poison. Evidently he had hidden his grief while on duty, but this time it showed—perhaps on purpose—and attracted the king’s attention. His concerned question ...

3900. Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Grand Finale: It was time for a celebration. We need to remember that the edited account continues from 11:1–20, and what intervenes is a compilation of supplementary material. The first half of chapter 11 briefly told the story of the repopulation of Jerusalem and enumerated the families who were involved in it. It used a source other than Nehemiah’s memoirs—one that focused on the role of the people and their leaders, not Nehemiah. The editor used this same source from 12:27 to 12:30. In verse 31 we ...

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