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 4963 results

3876. Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 36:7-9 texts in which Jesus the “teacher” would be well versed. Jesus reprimands the speaker, and refuses to deal with the man’s request. But he also uses this shameless appeal to move his discussion along to the issue of remaining focused and attentive on faithfulness, not on accumulating worldly possessions. Greed (“pleonexia”) is the vice that seeks after more and more possessions, and can never be satisfied. In Colossians 3:5 such “pleonexia” is rightly equated with idolatry. When you live ...

3877. A Spiritual Geography

Luke 12:32-40

Illustration

Richard Patt

... in that sparse geography that she found her own spirit more than ever. In Lemmon, South Dakota, she blossomed as the person and writer she suspected she could be. Most of her self-discovery was pleasing and would have been impossible had she insisted on remaining in the "safe" literary environment of New York. Jesus says, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," and we might add, "kingdoms you never dreamed possible." People find this out when they take the ...

3878. A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... we can learn the secret of hanging on to a life with God. That secret is the knee bent in prayer. It is only when we bend our knees before God in prayer that we can hang on to a life with Him.” (5) What a beautiful image of remaining unflappable even when the wind is blowing or the ground is shaking. While the world around us is frantic with doubt and despair, we can have an inner spring of hope and tranquility because our trust is in God who is beyond this world of shakable things. “Therefore,” says ...

3879. Sabbath Rest

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Laurence Veinott

... split into two groups - those who wanted to observe the Sabbath and those who preferred to travel on that day. The proposal was accepted, and both groups set out and traveled together until the next Sabbath day, when one group continued while the other remained at rest. Guess which group got to Oregon first? You're right. The ones who kept the Sabbath reached their destination first. Both the people and the horses were so rested by their Sabbath observance that they could travel much more vigorously and ...

3880. Looking at Jesus from Behind Prison Bars

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... do we struggle to understand the continued existence of evil, we wonder about the persistence of evil. We don't even seem to be making progress against evil. When Coretta King died, the media revealed that the percentage of African-American children living in poverty remained about the same as it was when her husband had died. All the years of the civil rights movement had not made much of a dent in childhood poverty. The more we have invested in these issues, the more we share John's apparent frustration ...

3881. Becoming Good Trees

Matthew 5:17-30

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... -picking legalists who always missed the forest for the trees that we don't hear what a tall order exceeding their righteousness is. The scribes and Pharisees were scrupulous in their religious life. They were thoroughly dedicated to living obedient lives, seeking to remain distinct from the world so that they could be God's chosen people. We should not dismiss their diligence lightly. When Jesus calls us to a righteousness exceeding theirs, he calls us to deep obedience. This passage calls us to go beyond ...

3882. A God Who Suffers with Us

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Lee Griess

... . Now I don't know if the blind man was happy to hear that answer or not or if he even understood it. But I do know this. Jesus' answer can have deep meaning to us. For when all is said and done, even as suffering, tragedy, misfortune, and loss remain a mystery for us, the source of healing, the source of comfort, the source of strength and hope need not be. For ours is a God who shares our suffering. Ours is a God whose love never ends. And ours is a God who stands within tragedy, who upholds us ...

3883. Set Free for Life

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Lee Griess

... of the American forces, Shokoi ran into the jungle and hid in a cave. He later learned that the war was over by reading one of the thousands of leaflets that were dropped into the jungle by American planes. But he still feared being taken prisoner, so he remained in his cave. For over a quarter century, he came out only at night. He existed on frogs, rats, roaches, and mangoes. A few years back, some hunters discovered him and it was only after they sent to Japan for his aged commander to come and talk with ...

3884. The Cross No One Wants To See

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Lee Griess

... filmed it. It was an ugly thing — made from weapons of violence and crime, most of which had been confiscated by the Dallas Police Department. There were guns and pistols, knives and bayonets, bullets, bombs, and broken glass. The cross rose out of the remains of an automobile that had been involved in a drunken driving fatality. An ugly barbed-wire enclosure, like they use at prisons, surrounded the whole thing. It was an ugly sight — a thing of violence and death and it caused quite a controversy. The ...

3885. The True Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lee Griess

... being the gate through which the sheepfold passes. A true shepherd comes that we might have life and have it in fullness. Through his leading we are saved. Through his death on the cross, we are redeemed and made children of God. For it is not enough that we simply remain sheep. It is not enough to wander about in life like a bunch of stupid lambs. Jesus calls us his children and asks us to be shepherds. He invites us to be the shepherd of the sheepfold in his place. He wants us to share God's love with one ...

3886. One in Faith and One in Service

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

... of his brothers and sisters had perished in the Holocaust, their fate one with the millions of others who had not survived the war. Rolf did not leave Sweden. Instead of returning to Germany — to the hometown scribbled on the note around his neck, Rolf remained in Sweden and became part of Johann's family. He was the son Johann never had. And over the years that followed, Rolf became a successful businessman and whenever Johann needed someone, Rolf was there. He took him to the doctor. He cared for him ...

3887. Sick People Like Us Will Always Need The (Divine) Doctor

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... that we are on the way to self-sufficiency, because that will demonstrate to ourselves that we are capable and have self-worth. We do not like being needy. We do not want to admit that we are in need of a physician, or we would remain forever dependent. And that is where our sin becomes diabolically apparent. We really do not want Jesus! The great American Puritan preacher of the eighteenth century, Jonathan Edwards, said it so well in what was perhaps his second most famous sermon, God Glorified in Man's ...

3888. Wonderful Opportunities for Mission

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Africa, Saint Augustine, once put it. In his view, life is best seen as a wayside inn. Christians are people who are then never captive to money and the world, because like travelers in an inn use tables, cups, and couches for the purpose of not remaining but of leaving them behind, that is the way we are to regard money and other things of the world.6 The spiritual father of the Methodist church made an observation in the same sprit in the eighteenth century, one which perhaps better addresses the spirit ...

3889. If Your Sense of Purpose Ever Becomes a Burden, Remember Your Value

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... . I don't know about you, but if I thought that my words must contribute to Christ's mission, that my interaction with others must contribute to that mission, the pressure would be unbearable — a guilt-trip. Besides, such a view would contradict Saint Paul's contention that we remain trapped by sin (Romans 7:17-20) and the book of Ecclesiastes' reminder in chapter 4, verse 4 that "all toil and all skill in work come from one person's envy of another." All we do is vanity. I sure hope that what I do on my ...

3890. Religious Balkanization

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... we keep them internalized in order to live politically correct lives. What would others think of us if we really told them how we felt about so-and-so or such-and-such? So we parade around in the dignity of refined culture. Yet, the bigotry remains underneath. And only when it is voiced in all of its ugliness, like my daughter faced from the movie screen, or the disciples of Jesus heard reflected back to them from the uncharacteristic words that shot at this woman, is there the start of a revulsion that ...

3891. A Career in The Kingdom

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... caught up in the fashions of their day, majoring in minors and having no direction or purpose or real meaning for what they are doing. They find themselves like alcoholics who have been warned by every friend and challenged by every enemy, but remain blind to the dangers of their drinking habits until one morning they struggle awake in an unknown bed, family gone, reputation destroyed, with all their begged and stolen income bargained insanely away for another hangover. "Woe is me!" they cry, in the first ...

3892. Is It Time Yet?

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

Tony Everett

... end of the line, the last person looks at his/her wristwatch and responds, "No." This reply is passed, one-by-one each with bored sighs, back to the first questioner. After a few moments, the same question is passed down the line (left elbows remaining on the right shoulders). The last person checks his/her watch and says, "Yes!" When the response again reaches the head of the line, the group lets out a loud and collective sigh. They then change position, now with right elbows leaning on the left shoulders ...

3893. What Did The Turkey Say? (Or Contentious Communities)

Isaiah 58:3-9a (9b-12)

Sermon

Tony Everett

... fasting with strict intensity. Sadly, the returning "haves" still maintained a wide breach between themselves and the "have nots," the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak. In their own minds, the returning exiles were still the heroes. Those who remained in Jerusalem were still the chumps. Just like the parrot, the exiles, in those days, were demonstrating the depths of hypocrisy. Just like the parrot, we, too, have become examples of what hypocrisy looks like. We, too, see a breach between rich ...

3894. Losers, Weepers

Isaiah 49:8-16a

Sermon

Tony Everett

... a picture of his beloved tattooed on each hand. The image of the whole people cannot be mistaken. That is permanent attachment! That is God's forever, invincible love! With outstretched arms and hands, God embraced the exiles, those who remained in devastated Jerusalem and those who had been scattered throughout the known world. With outstretched arms and open hands, God gathered them and declared, "Finders, keepers! You are mine forever!" With outstretched arms and open hands, pierced by nails fastening ...

3895. Can These Bones Live?

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... , and the questions came to Ezekiel and they come to us, as well. "Can these bones live?" Can life come again into the dark and brittle places within our hearts and our lives? The answer comes back in the affirmative. Yes! These bones can live again. The skeletal remains can find life on one condition. The condition is that we are to "prophesy." The Lord says, Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter ...

3896. To Be Passed Over

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... , of course, we see a maturing sense of this understanding. From the blood sacrifices of old to the "living sacrifice" that Paul calls the church to become (Romans 12:1), we travel an arc of revelation and learning. But the point and the concept remain clear. We give sacrificially of ourselves to that which we honor, that which we perceive to be greater than ourselves. On this night of nights, this celebration of being passed over by God, let us reach for a new and deeper understanding of sacrifice ...

3897. Preaching Peace By Jesus Christ ...

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... this — a community in complete agreement on all things might be just a little boring. Indeed, one might argue that respectful and loving diversity of opinion, perspective, and experience are more conducive to unity than is complete agreement. The question, however, remains. When scripture speaks of preaching the "peace" or unity of Christ, what gives? Perhaps the best answer, in the final analysis, is balance. Perhaps, on this Easter Sunday when we look into the new possibilities brought with Jesus out of ...

3898. Whosoever Will

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... Amsterdam for fifteen years, where he was known as a kind and devoted pastor, especially noted for ministering to his people during the devastating plague of 1602. A year later, he became a professor of theology at the University of Leiden, where he remained until his death. He was married and had nine children. Arminius was not the first to disagree with Calvin. Others who disagreed were called "Remonstrants," and, in fact, Arminius set out to refute the Remonstrants, but ended up being convinced by them ...

3899. God's Laughter

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... three had eaten, they inquired where Abraham's wife, Sarah, was. The fact that they knew her name gives away that they are more than three ordinary men. Sarah had not been seen to this point because again, following the customs of the times, she remained out of sight while her husband carried out the hospitality duties. She is not out of earshot, however, and has been inside the tent listening to the conversation between Abraham and the three visitors. It is important to know before going further that at ...

3900. A Way of Seeing

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... be most directly hurt by this dry summer. We need to find ways to do that even while we maintain our faith in the goodness and providential care of God. To repeat, religious faith is a way of seeing the world and life. That above all, is why I remain a Christian, for Christianity helps me to interpret life with a sense that it is good and that despite the pain and hurt of our world, it will come out right in the end. In his classic book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James, writes of "once ...

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