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 3976 to 4000 of 4963 results

3976. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... time God comes for his due until finally he makes the ultimate appeal in his Son, Jesus. Rebellious tenants kill the Son in hope of taking over the vineyard. Here can be seen the patience of God, trying over and over to get the tenants to respond ... of the vineyard's harvest. Time after time he fails until he plays his trump card: He sends his Son whom the people kill in hope of taking over the vineyard for their own. God is desperate to gain his people's love, loyalty, and fruits of repentance. When he sends ...

3977. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Isaiah 25:1-12, Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 4:10-20, Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... evil and death. He will wipe away all tears. The future is in God's hands. God will conquer. Right will prevail. There is hope for tomorrow. It is a final day of life, love, and victory. 2. People (v. 6). God is going to bring all peoples to ... own nation. He sees that of all nations. Rather than yield to pessimism and despair, he comes to a position of confidence and hope. In the difficult days of our times, this text is needed to give us similar encouragement about the ultimate outcome. Outline: The world ...

3978. Christ the King

Psalm 100:1-5, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, Matthew 25:31-46, Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... is the Victor, and he goes from victory to victory. It is important that our people realize that Christ is the conqueror and we in Christ share the victory. We are on the winning team. We are destined to win. This should fill us with good cheer and hope in the midst of discouraging circumstances. Outline: Jesus goes from victory to victory. a. He conquers death - vv. 20-22. b. He destroys evil - v. 24. c. He subjects all enemies to himself - vv. 25-27. 2. The Church In Combat (15:25). Need: This text can be ...

3979. Road Rage

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... us are here today partly because, like those restless people of long ago, we want to be held accountable. We need to be held accountable. But the good news of our Advent faith is that John's voice of accountability is also a loud voice of hope. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight." John is quoting Isaiah who first spoke these words to the hopeless people of Israel who had shriveled up in the catastrophic captivity of Babylonia. And yet, Isaiah reminds these homeless exiles that God has ...

3980. The Rest of the Story

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... your dreams come true. For the very life and innocence of our living God depends on it. Yes, the rest of the Christmas story depends on you and depends on me - depends on all of us - weeping and dreaming and trusting, returning to life as usual but with a hope that is unusual - returning to the way things really are, but with the courage to redeem this Time Being from insignificance. Years ago King George V sent this New Year's blessing to his British subjects: I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the ...

3981. The Offense of Grace

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... children of a loving God. My friends, an ethic of grace is different from an ethic of justice. Instead of reacting to the sin of others, instead of basing our response on reward or revenge or reciprocity, we can, instead, initiate a new relationship based on love and hope. And, by taking the high road, we can become fertile ground for abundant life to grow, both for our enemy and for our selves. I was once offered the gift of grace from an enemy, and it was a transforming moment in my life. Years ago, when ...

3982. The Choice for God or the World

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... are prophets of doom who insist that God should play no role in our world or our lives. In striking contrast to this first message, is Jesus' insistence that there must be a strong bond between the sheep, God's people, and the gatekeeper, Jesus. This missive of hope is integral to the whole mission of Christ, and states that all who follow him faithfully will never see death, but rather will enjoy the eternal life which is God's gift to all who believe. We must listen to the voice of the true shepherd, the ...

3983. Go to Heaven?

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... not just an intellectual consent that Jesus is Savior, but a living relationship, an active attitude that turns from self to God for hope, for provision, for redemption from sin. Faith is trusting Jesus and receiving what he offers. This is hard for so many. Just ... eat with them. You listened. You told her you could see the love of God in her smile and eyes. That meal gave them the hope to carry on. You were being a peacemaker, Stephen." And I will bow my head and worship Jesus! "Lord, I didn't know what you ...

3984. Praying Through

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... his body is wasting away, though all seems lost, though he cannot understand, Job has faith in God. His heart is filled with hope and he says: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has ... been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God ..." (Job 19:25-26). Thus with hope, faith, and persistence Job continues to knock in prayer. Finally God comes to him. Though the Lord does not explain the affliction, he does ...

3985. The Process of Love

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... seat, all body language meant to say politely, "Leave me alone. I'll go to sleep now." Still the woman rattled on. "Oh, I do hope it is not raining in Baltimore!" I thought to myself, "Lady, who cares?" On and on, she talked. So finally I sat up and ... she told me her husband was dead, his casket was in the jet's storage, and his graveside funeral would be in Baltimore. So she was hoping for good weather. I asked God to give me strength to listen to her for an hour. And she told me how they met, about his ...

3986. The Purple Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... mentor Polish Sister Faustina Kowalska, whom the Pope canonized as St. Faustina in 2000: "To humanity, which at times seems to be lost and dominated by the power of evil, egoism and fear, the risen Lord offers as a gift his love that forgives, reconciles and reopens the spirit to hope. It's love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much need the world has to understand and accept Divine Mercy!" The color of the love that forgives, reconciles and reopens the spirit to ...

3987. What Is Your Accent?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... tones clashed every bit as much as did their political views. When relatives from "Lon-Gisland, New York" visited last summer, our west coast kids could barely understand them. Students hoping to make it in TV journalism often invest in voice lessons specifically directed at helping them eliminate any regional accents or inflections in their speech. They hope that a vanilla-toned voice will enable them to be marketable in our spice-rack country. We assume a lot about a person when we first hear them speak ...

3988. Low Carb Christianity

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , by declaring the family's strength couldn't be the source of his disciples' strength. Our primary identity isn't in family but in Christ. Only by letting go of family, letting go even of one's own life and picking up the cross - could disciples hope to save their lives, save their families, save the world. Discipleship is no call for milk-toast types to blindly follow well-worn paths towards piety or inner peace. Discipleship is a call to strike out on new, even unexplored routes as directed by the divine ...

3989. But Wait! There's More!

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... and Alzheimer’s, etc. And we are grateful. We want to cling on to life. But deep in our hearts we know these are only holding actions. One thing in life remains inevitable: we all shall die. We all shall lose people we love to death. There is no more hopeful good news that can come to us than that which was announced 2,000 years ago: Death has been defeated. “O death, where is your victory; O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) I want to tell you about a man named Arthur Stace of Sydney ...

3990. Dead Man Walking

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... spirit in order to safeguard your (false) sense of security? You can be a dead man/dead woman walking and yet no one sees it – no one knows it except you. The speaker in today's Psalm cries out to the Lord because he's finally realized he's without hope, without help, without a way of escape from his Sheol, his depth of despair. He's been a dead man walking, and that realization has now brought him to his knees before the Lord. But even in this pit of despair this psalmist clings to a faith in a listening ...

3991. Move Life from Duty to Destiny

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus’ words are a wet blanket on the ardor of would-be revolutionaries or liberationist freedom-fighters who hope to hasten the arrival of the eschaton by actively participating in armed insurrections against established power structures. ... history, Jesus shifts his focus again to what will happen before these great wars and natural disasters. The disciples who had hoped Jesus would hand them super-powerful long-distance binoculars are now urged to focus on a much more immediate, and personally ...

3992. Conversion to Christ

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the physical ailments of those who sought his healing touch: the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19), Bartimaeus, the blind man (Mark 10:46-52), and many cases of paralytics (Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26). Jesus was also the one who restored hope and dignity to those in despair. He converted the heart of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4:1-42) and forgave the woman accused of having committed adultery (John 8:1-11). Even on the cross, Jesus was ready and willing to listen and bring conversion ...

3993. Follow That Star (New Year's Day)

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... on a plane has become a step of faith some of us are still unwilling to take. Suddenly one of the great freedoms we have taken for granted has been threatened. Our perspective on the hazards of travel have escalated from "I hope I don't lose my luggage" to "I hope I don't lose my life!" Travel has always been hard, hazardous, even harrowing. It has only been in the last century that modes of transportation like cars, trains, and planes have made traveling more about reaching a destination than surviving the ...

3994. I'm a Chunk of Coal, but I'm Gonna Be a Diamond

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... your ambitions for God and the gospel? At one point Paul attacks a church for "making its ambition to have no ambition." It's about time we began dreaming God-sized dreams and having God-sized visions. Many of our hopes and dreams are so puny and pint-sized they hardly register on any scale of justice or hope. They are "like a gold ring in a pig's snout" (Proverbs 11:22). A one carat diamond can be more significant than a large-sized five carat one. Jeremiah's calling of the people of Israel to significance ...

3995. More!!!

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of universal peace – a world without barriers and borders, an existence free of all enmity and strife. A young four-year old girl had a terrific Christmas. She got everything she wanted. After all the presents were opened, she turned to he mother and said, "I hope Mary and Joseph have another baby next year!" That's the spirit of Advent. Ask for More! Ask for Everything! Then ask to have it all again next year! · In the midst of all the reports from Afghanistan and Pakistan, don't just wish for our ...

3996. Saved by the Bell

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ringing: can you hear them? Can you hear the ringing in our ears? It's time to peal, church, moved by the Spirit, which sets the church asong. The bell has rung - once for all time. The Bell Ringer was Jesus. Life has triumphed over death. Hope over despair. Truth over falsehood. In "It's a Wonderful Life," when a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. When the church bell rings, snares are broken, cords loosed, wounds healed, prisoners freed. Have you heard those bells? Is the world hearing those bells in ...

3997. The Devil Takes Visa

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... do we buy into and buy up normal consumer culture? Why do we get caught up in the "more is better" mantra? And when more isn't better, but is somehow just "more" of the same old emptiness, why do we go out and look for other stuff that we hope will fill us up. We live in a country committed to "shopping therapy," believing that somewhere out there in the mall-sprawl we can find a sale rack of happiness, a new spring line of fulfillment. That is why the devil so gladly takes Visa. We keep wandering from ...

3998. The Real Winning Attitude

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 's attack made upon a San Fernando coach by a father enraged that his son had been benched, validates these fears. Then there are the numerous assaults – some of which have been deadly – that parents have directed at each other. Is this the winning attitude we are hoping to instill in our children? Surveys indicate that in the year 2000, out of 48 million children ages 6-17 in the U.S., 74% of these kids participate in at least one of the eighteen different team sorts available to them ("Who's the Child ...

3999. Are You a GOT TO or a GET TO Christian?

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... was returned to him as a sacred promise -a covenant sealed by sacrifice - that transformed Abram. With the divine promise Abram could take back his advanced age, take back Sarai's age and apparent barrenness, take back his own confidence in the divinely-directed future he had hoped for and believed in for so long. His age, Sarai's age, the passage of still more years, would all now be counted as sacred - elements that would be used by God to fulfill God's plan, not serve as impediments to block God's plan ...

4000. The King Who Died

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Friends, that second thief is you and me. We come this day confessing that without God’s love and mercy, we have no hope. But because God loves us, and because Jesus died for us, we have abundant hope about life, about death and about life beyond the grave. In December 1997, a young man in West Paducah, Kentucky, took a gun to school and killed seven of his classmates. Parents came from all over the community, frantically ...

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