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 3901 to 3925 of 4944 results

3901. It's Performance That Counts

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Nothing aggravates me more than buying something that does not work when I get it home. Whether it is purchased at a local store or through the latest mail-order catalog, if the item does not live up to its advertised promises, I feel cheated. Most people do not mind spending money on those objects of their desiring, some of them necessary, others frivolous, provided they live up to the expectations which were made on the packaging. At one time or another, I suppose, we are all tricked by the slick ...

3902. How’s That Again, Jesus?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

A misguided bird gets loose in the sanctuary and every eye in the congregation drifts toward the ceiling. Never mind that the choir is continuing to sing the anthem they have been working on for weeks just for this special occasion. The lost bird has totally interrupted the proceedings and besides, most would have to admit, its flight was much more entertaining. “I was so afraid that bird was going to land on your head -- but I’m sure the choir understands,” is the comment heard from a number of people at ...

3903. The Majesty Of God's Love

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Today we celebrate Jesus' ascension into heaven. Our gospel lesson from Matthew does not directly speak of our Lord's ascension, but it does provide some clues regarding its significance. It has to do with Jesus' great commission ("to make disciples of all nations [Matthew 28:19])" and its relationship to the Trinity. Somehow Jesus' ascension represents an internal divine commitment by God that he will not quit until everyone is wrapped up in his love. Here is the story. According to Matthew's version, on ...

3904. When Old Nick Met Nicodemus

Drama

Cast (in order of appearance) NICK (an old newspaper vendor) JIM/NICODEMUS (a younger man) JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA SOLDIER I SOLDIER II PETER JOHN SALOME MARY MARY MAGDALENE EXTRAS Introduction We are blessed with a professional actor in our church, who loves to play the part of old men. This play was written with him in mind, but any man with a bit of make-up and whitened hair can win your audience with this warm story of an old man on Easter morning. The scenery is very simple ... an old street corner ...

3905. Just Common People?

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Some years ago in the Letters to the Editor in the Saturday Evening Post, I found one letter by an artist, who was describing the illustrations on the cover of the Post. The term that he used for them was pungent - "Insignificance, U.S.A." Well, most of us, I’m sure, have, in the past, found the Post covers, especially those paintings by Norman Rockwell, delightful. Yet, on the other hand, perhaps the artist had his point, because looking back, I discovered that the little, human interest scenes depicted ...

3906. Jesus the Hope of the World

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

Characters: Thomas - apostle of Jesus; skeptical and cynical; tries hard to hide his fear. Peter - apostle of Jesus; strong personality. John - apostle of Jesus; compassionate and caring. Mary Magdalene - disciple of Jesus; strong and faithful. The play begins with only Thomas onstage. He has a small sack, large enough to contain an extra robe, etc. He is packing the sack. He looks around. Thomas: Now, let me see, am I missing anything? (He looks into the bag.) Robe, sandals, money sack. Yes, it looks like ...

3907. Family Night Live

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: I wrote this drama in hopes of showing the myths that some people have about God. They think that: A) He is either not interested in us any longer B) He is a taskmaster that cares more about do’s and don’t's C) He is a kindly old man who merely wants us to believe in Him Of course, God wants to be friends with us. And as we develop that friendship with Him we desire to do things that please Him and refrain from that which hurts our relationship... Cast: John: Dad. Angela: Mom. Isabelle: ...

3908. Trouble in the Manse

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

There once was a retreat attended by the clergy of a community for the purpose of establishing support groups. To kick things off the leader broke the participants up into groups of four and instructed them to confide in one another. In one group, a rabbi broke the ice by saying, "I'll begin by sharing one of my most disturbing problems. Occasionally I slip out of town and give in to my craving for pork - I stuff myself with bacon, sausage, ham, pork chops, and sometimes even baby back ribs." At this point ...

3909. The Discipline of Discipleship

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

DISCIPLINE. Dirty word these days. DISCIPLESHIP. Not so dirty a word, but obviously related to the other. Discipline, discipleship, disciple...all come from the same Latin root which has to do with LEARNING. In fact, the Greek word which we translate in the English New Testament as "disciple" is mathetes, a LEARNER. What brings this subject to mind is our continuing national fascination with the just-completed Olympic games and grows out of that wonderful biblical imagery used so regularly by the apostle ...

3910. Casting Out An Evil Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: Casting Out An Evil Spirit New Title: Good Religion The idea of casting out an evil spirit sounds too much like superstition to many of us. We prefer to relegate such things to the ...

3911. Aren't You Glad?

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Anne-Rose Reeves

Pastor Jones, at St. Michaels Lutheran Church, wasn't quite sure just how to put his Easter sermon together. And believe me, it wasn't for lack of advice and study. At the last council meeting, the church president had jokingly told him he hoped that this year's Easter sermon would finally say something significant to all those "Christmas and Easter Christians" who show up only twice a year and only put a dollar in the plate. "Pastor, tell them how much money it takes to keep this building in good repair, ...

3912. Flies On The Ceiling Of The Sistine Chapel

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Paul Pearsall and his wife were attending a meeting in Rome, Italy. Their first stop was a tour of Vatican City. Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel had just been renovated. Dr. Pearsall and his wife waited for hours in line for a glimpse of this remarkable feat. At a distance the paintings did not look all that impressive. People chattered and joked about a paint-by-number replica of Michelangelo's work for their own ceilings. When they drew closer, however, they were overwhelmed. The paintings ...

3913. Thanks For All You've Done

Colossians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

The story is told of a professor of philosophy at a major university in this country who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever "really gone against him." ...

3914. Making Relationships Work

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old legend about a New England town that was suffering through all manner of dissension and back-biting. The people were constantly involved in petty feuds pitting neighbor against neighbor. One day, the people came together and consulted a wise pastor as to how they could resolve their differences. The pastor agreed to think on the matter and send them a letter soon detailing his judgement. A few days later, the pastor sat down and wrote his letter to the people, full of advice on how to make ...

3915. When The Economy Goes South

1 Kings 17:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. For the past decade we have experienced a time of unequaled prosperity in our land--but recent ...

3916. A Full House

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Tonight is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is an important service in the Christian Liturgical calendar because it is a season that reminds us of our MORTALITY. Tonight, when many of you come forward for the imposition of ashes upon your hands or your forehead, one of the pastors will share the words, "From dust thou camest, and to dust thou shall return." These penetrating words help to set the tone for the beginning of the Lenten Season. The calendar of the world and the calendar of the church are often at ...

3917. Excited!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It happened back in 1983. Only eight minutes and thirty-four seconds remained in a game between the University of Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Suddenly Wolf Pack running back, Otto Kelly, broke loose on an eighty-nine yard scamper and a touchdown, giving his team a 22-21 lead. During Kelly's run his coach, Chris Ault of the Wolf Pack, got so caught up in the excitement that he began racing down the sideline alongside Kelly. When Ault reached the FresnoState twenty-yard line, he ...

3918. Look Carefully How You Walk

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The El Cortez is a well-known hotel in San Diego, California. The charm of it is comparable to the more famous hotels around the world. There is an intriguing story connected with it. "Years ago, the elevator in the hotel couldn't handle the expanding traffic of people. It was just not adequate for all of the people who were going and coming, and who needed to get up to or down from their rooms. And so the management called in some experts to solve the problem. They assembled together a high-powered team ...

3919. How Moses Handled Stress

Numbers 11:4-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I once saw a list of professions ranked according to the degree of stress that can be found in that vocation. I looked for "minister." It wasn't there. I assumed there must be a mistake, so I looked under "clergy." It wasn't there, either. I looked under "pastor," and "priest." Not there. Later somebody told me that, as a matter of fact, ministry is considered one of the least stressful vocations. Which meant that all the worrying I've done for the last thirty years was for nothing. The fact of the matter ...

3920. Remembering Jesus

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

James L. Killen

Christians share a memory - and a belief - that gives us a place to stand, a way of getting things into perspective, and an ability to cope no matter what is going on in the world around us. We share the memory that once, a long time ago, there was a young teacher who was totally committed to the loving purpose of God for the world. He came healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and making other loving responses to human need. He came announcing a new possibility that God offers to the whole creation and ...

3921. No Longer Damned

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

The text for today is Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." I'm not sure all of you were paying attention, so I'm going to say it again. The text for today is Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." You know, this is really important, so I'm going to say it one more time. Romans, chapter 8, verse 1: "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." You know what ...

3922. Jedi Christians

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who's your favorite superhero? We've got a lot to pick from this summer. Everybody loves a superhero. Just look at the movies. Our kids' heads are filled with dreams of superhero-dom, as we fill their toy chests with action figures, costumes, and props so they can pretend they're the latest champion of the universe. This summer opened with George Lucas' newest installment in the Star Wars saga: Episode II Attack of the Clones. It re-energized the lore and lure of that extraterrestrial epic our nonlinear, ...

3923. A New Attitude

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you? Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled, Falling into Greatness. In it he tells about an old friend who ...

3924. There's an Elephant in the Room and Her Name Is Katrina

Exodus 14:10-15

Sermon

James W. Moore

There is an elephant in the room and her name is Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive storm to hit the United States in historic times. It caused extensive damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama when it slammed ashore on August 29, 2005. By late morning of August 29, the storm caused several sections of the levee system in New Orleans to collapse. Subsequent flooding over most of the city resulted in horrendous damage, destruction and death. Estimates are placing ...

3925. I Love My Church

1 Chronicles 29:3

Sermon

James Merritt

Recently someone sent me a list entitled, "Satan's Beatitudes." They said if the devil were to write his Beatitudes they would probably go something like this: Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians—they are my best workers. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked, and expect to be thanked—I can use them. Blessed are the touchy. With a bit of luck they may stop going to church— they are my missionaries. Blessed are ...

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