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 4914 results

3876. A Failure of Leadership

Num 20:14-29

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Leaders’ plans fail and leaders die, but God’s work goes on. Understanding the Text Three things form obstacles to the goal of progress toward the promised land in Numbers 20: death, rebellion, and opposition. Numbers 20:1–13 shows that not only are there still voices of discontent and rebellion against Moses and Aaron, but also that Moses and Aaron themselves are not immune to falling into sin. As a result of their sin, they are told that neither of them will live to enter the land of promise. ...

3877. The Deeper Meanings of The Christian Faith by Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Mann

I would like to talk with you about the meaning of Christianity. I took seriously the assignment that was given to me. I studied about Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill where he stood up in the great place of debate and spoke so eloquently that the people said, "Tell us what is the meaning of this Jesus and the resurrection that you proclaim." I have tried to work out this message mindful of what I imagine are your thoughts, my own thoughts, and the troubled thoughts that are characteristic in this modern period ...

3878. The Return to Catholicity

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, can you possibly understand the overwhelming sense of joy that possesses my heart and soul at this moment? I have just completed a long, long journey. It has taken me 460 years to walk one block - from St. John’s to St. Ambrose - because this Year of Our Lord 1979 is the 460th Anniversary of the greatest revolution that have ever shaken this globe. This marks the beginning of that Reformation and ...

3879. How Can We Meet Grief?

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8

Sermon

Edward Chinn

Across thirty centuries, comes this cry of grief from David, whom God called from being a shepherd of herds to be the shepherd of His people, Israel. David had a son named Absalom. Absalom had murdered his brother because that brother had raped his sister, Tamar. After being accepted back into the family, Absalom had led a rebellion against his father, the king. That rebel son had won the Israeli army to his side. In a dramatic showdown in the woods of Ephraim, Absalom rode through the forest away from his ...

3880. Filling Moses’ Shoes

Joshua 3:7-17

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

What will they do now? Moses has died, and nobody even knows where he has been buried. Moses is the one who led the people of Israel out of Egypt, and all along the way in the wilderness. Now he is dead, and what will happen next? Maybe Moses' burial place was kept a secret so that the people wouldn't hang around his grave wringing their hands over the loss of their leader. The people have no time for self-pity. They are still on the wrong side of the Jordan. The journey is not yet complete. They are on ...

3881. Decisions, Decisions

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

James Merritt

If you haven't yet seen the trilogy of movies called, The Lord Of The Rings you really need to see it. It is not only clean, but it is extremely thought provoking. The author of the work upon which those movies are based was a man named J. R. R. Tolkien. A little known fact about Tolkien is he was the man that was instrumental in bringing C.S. Lewis to faith in Jesus Christ. He spent much of his early life as an agnostic and then an atheist, but through a meeting one night with Tolkien, he became a ...

3882. The Coming of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Although the formula, “Now about …” (peri de), which sometimes appears to have marked Paul’s answers to questions (see disc. on 4:9) does not occur, 4:13–18 is probably his answer to a question about the fate of deceased believers. From the teaching the missionaries gave while they were still with them, the Thessalonians would have known the general eschatological scenario that Paul unfolds in these verses, but at least some of them were still unsure where the Christian dead fitted into it. They may have ...

3883. Remember

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Losing someone is hard. All of us at one time or another have lost someone in our lives, someone truly dear to us. Perhaps through death, perhaps through divorce or the ending of a relationship. Perhaps our children have grown up and left the nest. Perhaps a friendship has ended. No matter how we have lost someone, our brains will go through a complicated process that we call grief. Grief essentially means our brain is trying to adapt to a new reality in which someone who was a significant part of our ...

3884. The Wisdom In Waiting

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

"Fear not!" Jesus says. These are the same words spoken by the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds on the occasion of his first coming. Now they are used to speak of his second coming. The reason why we need not fear is because God's good pleasure is to give us the kingdom. We cannot earn it. We cannot build it. It is a gift of grace. Despite all the evidence to the contrary and all attempts to oppose it, the promise has been made. The kingdom of God is on the way. We are to wait for it and be ready. The ...

3885. A Glory Revealed by Abiding

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jesus said unto the Jews who believed on him, "If you abide in my word, you will really be my disciples, and ... the truth will keep you free."1 - John 8:31f In one of his great hymns, Charles Wesley writes: Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night. Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray - I woke; the dungeon blazed with light. My chains fell off; my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee. The words by Wesley serve well as a bridge between the message of last week’s ...

3886. A Courtroom Confrontation

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Our scripture lesson for today describes a classic courtroom confrontation. On this Passion Sunday it is altogether appropriate that we consider it. Courtrooms are often places of high drama and suspense. Judge Ito's courtroom in Los Angeles has dominated America's attention since January. Enormous power is wielded in courtrooms, power to levy large fines, power to decide between freedom and prison, power to determine life or death. Judges have wide discretionary authority to design sentences to fit the ...

3887. Visioning Or Vanishing?

Proverbs 29:1-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Off the coast of Maine lies an island so small that the surrounding ocean can be seen from any point on the island. A visitor had the impulse to start a Sunday school class on the island, so he gathered the children around him for their first lesson. "How many of you," he asked, "have ever seen the Atlantic Ocean?" To his surprise, not a single hand went up. There is such a thing as being so much a part of one's environment that we're simply not aware of it. It's the old story of not seeing the forest for ...

3888. Jesus Brings Us to New Life

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Pastor David Johnson was all prepared, he thought, for his Easter sermon. Having only graduated from the seminary three months prior to taking his present position at the MapleStreetCommunityChurch, he possessed all the latest and most interesting theology. He made the final touches to his sermon on Holy Saturday morning and outlined its content to his wife. He told her that his sermon was based on theology of Paul Tillich, who spoke of the resurrection as a symbol that the estrangement from our authentic ...

3889. Playing A Role Or Being A Truth

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The text for the message this morning, along with the scripture lesson that has already been read is from the Book of Romans, the 12th chapter. Its one of those signal passages in the New Testament that many of you know by heart. The first two verses of the 12th chapter. This is the word of the Lord. I appeal to you therefore brothers and sisters by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, who is your spiritual worship. And be not conformed to the ...

3890. Constantly Abiding

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

For nearly 40 years now, I have practiced a discipline that is one of the sustaining forces in my life. A couple of times a year now, four times a year when I was a pastor, I go on a private retreat. Sometimes just for 24 hours – sometimes for 2 or 3 days. These occasions are essential for me -- I am with people all the time. My life is intertwined with so many lives. Daily “quiet times,” snatches of solitude now and then, are not enough for me. I run down and I run out! So occasionally I have to set aside ...

3891. Hands On

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Our five-year-old Soren was looking at an over-sized art book. It has lots of glossy full-page reproductions of artwork that made it a fascinating "read" for a five-year old. But on a two-page layout in a series of Renaissance paintings depicting Jesus' life, Soren found a mystifying addition. "Daddy," she asked, "why does Jesus always have a plate on his head?" Her stubby purple-painted fingernail was pointing at the perfectly round golden halo that surrounded Jesus' head in all the paintings. Before I ...

3892. Taking the Long View

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

So much seems to press upon us in our daily living that "taking the long view" may not only be remote but considered impractical and therefore shelved. A thousand years equals one day and one day equals 1,000 years. It all sounds so mystical and unscientific! Do you mean we have to rethink being captains of our own ships? That is so basic to the American way and you are suggesting we give it up? After all, we can accomplish anything we set out to do — that is if we just try hard enough. Planning is done ...

3893. God Is Amazing

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Richard Gribble

It goes without saying, but we constantly need to be reminded that we live in an amazing world, yet often we fail to recognize or appreciate this reality. Those of us who are middle-aged or more can remember the wonder that captured the American people in the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy made a pledge to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. When the Soviet Union sent the first satellite, Sputnik, into space in 1957, Americans were inspired to respond. We were so captivated by ...

3894. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week our epistle reading again starts with another of Paul’s signature greetings, this time to the church at Corinth. The apostle adapts the typical Hellenistic salutation to create an utterly Christocentric greeting. Instead of just “greeting” (“chairein”) Paul offers “grace” (“charis”) along with the Hebrew “shalom” (“peace”). Most importantly Paul emphasizes the source of all the “grace” and “peace” he extends to these Corinthian Christians: it comes “from God our Father,” and has been made ...

3895. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul continues to offer his view of essential Christian unity amid myriad claims to the exclusivity of certain groups and their ideas. While verses 10-16 dismissed any special claims that Corinthians might make based upon their loyalty to any one individual leader, Paul now turns to the even more insidious divisiveness suggested by those who touted one form of theological knowledge or insight over another. Corinth was an extremely Greek Roman city. Its Greek heritage was long; its ...

3896. Epiphany 5

Isaiah 40:1-31, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31 Chapter 40 is the opening chapter of Deutero-Isaiah written in 540 B.C. at a time of the Babylonian captivity. God's people are slaves in a foreign land. They are weak and helpless. They need a message from Yahweh. He is a God of power and glory. The people are saying that their God does not know of their situation. Yahweh reminds them that he is creator of the world, an everlasting God who gives strength to the powerless. They that wait on the Lord shall have his ...

3897. A Good-bye Topping All Others

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Those bidding good-bye are around us all of our lives. Sometimes there are almost unbearable feelings and other times merely a shrug of the shoulders. We may sense terrible lostness. Occasionally, it may be a matter of saying under our breaths that it is good riddance. Perhaps most of us have been there and done all of that. In the case of our dear Lord's ascension, we discover quickly that this is not a usual parting which is common to our experience. There is something very different here! We weren't ...

3898. The Promise that Won’t Be Broken

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

Paul was sitting in prison with every reason to be discouraged. He was just days away from his execution at the hands of Emperor Nero. He was isolated and treated like a man to be scorned, unlike his earlier stints in jail. The Emperor Nero had blamed the Christians for the great fire that destroyed the city of Rome. For the first time they were subjected to terrible persecution and citizens from every corner of the empire turned against them. Christians were burned as living torches to light the emperor's ...

3899. Casting Out Demons

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you remember Mercury Morris, a great running back for the Miami Dolphins back in their glory days when they were winning the Super Bowls. Mercury was one of the first professional athletes be caught involved in drugs. He was arrested, tried and sent to jail. Why should such a successful athlete do such a dumb thing? Why should he throw his life away? At his trial he said, “I wanted to get away from it, but the demons wouldn’t let me.” That sounds dramatic when we hear it in that fashion. I’ve ...

3900. and Forgiveness Come Easy When You’re Filled with The Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

It's Pentecost Sunday, a day when we celebrate the birth of the Church and the giving of the Holy Spirit, as our lesson from Acts (2:1-21) reports. But the Bible makes it clear that it was not just on that first Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was given. It happened to some in Old Testament times (Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13). However, the Spirit was also given during Jesus' own life on earth. Here's the story. The disciples were still pretty much in despair that Sunday evening over the events of Good ...

Showing results