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 4001 to 4025 of 4936 results

4001. Making Disciples

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The fruit or lack of it in our ministries is ever before us. The truth is seen among both clergy and laity. Over a period of time it is there for others to observe and most likely evaluate. Actually, generations and centuries speak to what we have done or not done for Christ and his body, the church — visible and invisible. Paul is inspirationally confident in the product he has labored to bring about. His work evidences a writing on their hearts, not written in ink but with the Spirit of the Living God. ...

4002. No-fault Religion

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13), 14-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

It happened in a church parking lot, and my friend saw it happen. A lady, backing out of her parking space, rammed my friend's car, causing considerable damage. My friend was able to talk to the woman before she drove away. She was distraught and he was distraught. But, after exchanging the appropriate information, they departed to leave it in the hands of the insurance people. When it got into the hands of the insurance people, the no-fault insurance clause went into effect. Yes, the woman's insurance ...

4003. Risking Relationships That Redeem

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

The ancient prophet/servant of the Lord Fried green tomatoes were the house specialty at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Alabama during the 1930s. Evelyn is suffering through the growing pains of a midlife crisis when she and her husband come across the quaint Depression-era ghost of a town called Whistle Stop. Their destination is a nearby retirement home where Evelyn quite by chance meets octogenarian Ninny Threadgoode. Evelyn is unhappy with herself and dissatisfied with her marriage. Sensing Evelyn's ...

4004. Is Your Christmas Spirit a Controlled Substance?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Note: It is recommended that you hand out to every one a wooden match as part of this sermon. We are two days into the “Twelve Days of Christmas” countdown. This means you are either swimming in the “Christmas spirit,” or you have by now been swamped by the “Christmas spirit.” Which is it? How many of you are swamped? How many of you are swimming? We are supposed to be suffused with the “Christmas spirit” these days. But here’s our problem: the “spirit” that is touted as “Christmas,” as in “Christmas ...

4005. Jesus Radical Prescription

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

We’re still sitting on the hillside with those whose lives Jesus’ has changed with the miracle of God’s love. He’s teaching us about God’s new world, where God’s love reigns. Jesus has just told us that he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. For example, “The law says, ‘Do not murder.’ But I say that not killing someone doesn’t go far enough. God is concerned about how you feel toward others, how you perceive them, how you relate to them. Therefore, beware of your anger toward others. Beware of ...

4006. Lent 4

Numbers 21:4-9, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:1-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9 The people of Israel are fed up with the hardships of wilderness wandering. They grumble and complain about their food. This constitutes rebellion against God's and Moses' leadership. Their disobedience results in their being bitten by poisonous snakes. Realizing their sin, they ask Moses to pray that God will remove the serpents. He does not remove them, but he provides a cure a mere look at a raised bronze serpent. God provides a means of healing from the ...

4007. Proper 25

Job 42:1-6, Job 42:7-17, Mark 10:46-52, Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Job 42:1-6 (10-17) In this passage we come to the book's conclusion. Now Job gives his final response to God. Job does not get his questions answered. Why does a righteous person suffer? He does not receive vindication or justification. But Job does get a fresh, first-hand experience with God which is far better than an answer or vindication. In the presence of God, Job confesses his faith in God and his unworthiness before God. He turns to God and has no further questions or ...

4008. Proper 16

Hebrews 12:14-29, Jeremiah 1:1-19, Psalm 71:1-24, Luke 13:10-17

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 71:1-6 First Lesson—The book of the prophet Jeremiah begins with an account of his call to the prophetic office despite feelings of inadequacy. Jeremiah 1:4-10 Second Lesson—The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought a new approach to God, but reverence is still appropriate. Hebrews 12:18-29 Gospel—Jesus flies in the face of tradition to perform a miraculous healing on the Sabbath. Luke 13:10-17 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also ...

4009. A Time for Opportunity

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you are familiar with a 26-year-old blogger in Montreal, Canada named Kyle MacDonald. Kyle is the ultimate modern day horse trader. He has become famous for trading a red paper clip for a house. Yes, you heard right. A paper clip for a house. How did he accomplish this remarkable exchange? Well, he didn’t have a job, but one day he looked at a red paper clip on his desk and decided to trade it on the barter section of the popular website Craigslist. He asked people to trade with him anything of ...

4010. Any Given Sunday

Acts 2:41-47

Sermon

James Merritt

A little boy was standing on the side of the road when a man drove by who was lost. He stopped and rolled down his window and said, "Son, how do you get to town?" The little boy said, "I don't know." He said, "Where is Route 20?" The little boy said, "I don't know." He said, "Where does this road go?" The little boy said, "I don't know." The man, now exasperated said, "What is the name of this street that I am on?" The little boy said, "I don't know." The man sighed and said, "Boy, you don't know anything ...

4011. Keeping His Word

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Keeping our word has a long and positive history in our nation. For generations, a man was known by whether or not he kept his word. His word was his bond. Deal after deal was made on that basis. The essentials of the business world found it always helpful and even necessary for commerce to run smoothly. Some of us can remember vividly how these agreements functioned. Woe be unto that man who did not keep his word! If it happened more than once or twice and there were no extenuating circumstances, he was ...

4012. Advent 3

Lk 3:7-18 · Phil 4:4-7 · Zeph 3:14-20 · Isa 12:2-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Zephaniah 3:14-20 Rejoice, for Yahweh will restore his people to their homeland. This is the only use of Zephaniah in the three-year Lectionary. Zephaniah lived during the reign of Josiah in the seventh century, prior to the Babylonian captivity. Our pericope is considered an addition by an unknown author of the Deutero-Isaiah period. The passage gives good news of salvation to those in exile: a return to Jerusalem, victory over enemies, Yahweh in their midst, and renown among the ...

4013. A Cloud Of Witnesses

Hebrews 12:1-3

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Last week was actually All Saints Sunday and because of our Stewardship Campaign we kind of set it aside. But, I think it is an important Sunday in the life of the Church and in our personal Journey of Faith so we're going to celebrate it today. All Saints Sunday is a day to remember those people who have been a major influence in our life of faith. If we put it in terms of our Running on Faith study, we might think of these people as the Road Signs along the way for all of the individual saints in our ...

4014. When You Want to Run Away

Psalm 11:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In Concord, California, a customer became enraged at an automated teller, and kept punching it because the machine refused to dispense $80 from the man’s account. The customer was arrested and charged with “malicious mischief.” This is not an isolated incident. According to police reports, so many people were beating up on automated machines when they first appeared everywhere in the 1980’s that it became this nation’s most serious crime problem. Does it make you mad? I’ve seen people livid with anger, ...

4015. From Envy to Gratitude

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The sun is shining and the sky is clear. As landowner Joe consumes his breakfast he knows he must, likewise, seize the day. My daddy called it “Making hay while the sun shines." Joe might refer to it as “Making wine before the grapes rot." Whatever the phrase, the focus is the same. Harvest won't wait. Joes finishes breakfast, climbs into his pickup truck and drives down Nolensville Road where day laborers assemble looking for work. Well, the time and place may be different, but the story is the same. And ...

4016. When the Winds Are Against Us

Mark 6:45-56

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’ve always been fond of the story of the two men in a boat in the midst of a severe storm. As the waves rose and the boat threatened to capsize, the men knew that they needed help. They were not religious men, but they decided that prayer was all that was left, so there in the teeth of the gale, one of them shouted the only prayer he could muster, “O God, you know that I haven’t bothered you for the past 15 years, and if you’ll just get us out of this mess, I promise you that I won’t bother you again for ...

4017. Choosing a Master

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

It was supposed to have been fun. No one was supposed to have gotten hurt. Little children haven't become greedy yet have they? A minor league baseball team in Michigan held a promotion after a game, dropping $1,000 in cash from a helicopter over the outfield. Then they let the children run after it. The air should have been filled with giggles as the children plucked dollar bills from the air and scooped them off the ground. No one expected cries of pain. No one expected the older, bigger children to ...

4018. Compound Interest Your Life

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Albert Einstein is noted for his work in the field of physics. That’s where he got his Nobel Prize in 1921. But one of his most famous quotes is one that appears to have nothing to do with physics. Einstein is reported to have said, when asked what is the most powerful force in the universe, “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” What is “the secret of life?” When asked that question at a men’s retreat, “Mike,” a successful entrepreneur whose start-up company went public, making ...

4019. Silly Putty, Play-Doh and Potter's Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Somebody once said: "We are all made of common clay and that is why we all have the same kinds of problems." But someone else said: "We're all created in the same mold, only some of us are moldier than others." (1) There is a place in India where their legends agree with the Bible that humankind was made from dust. But they think that the upper class (or caste) was made from the fertile soil and the lower class was made from ordinary clay. But even I know, if you are going to create pottery, you want ...

4020. A Child Will Be Born

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a cold December afternoon. Rain mixed with snow splashed against the windshield. Overhead dark clouds hovered seemingly just above the treetops. All day long two men, a pastor named Jerry and a layman named Jim, had been delivering Christmas boxes. Many of the families who would receive these boxes would get nothing else for Christmas that year. The pickup truck had been loaded when the two men started out on their journey but now, only one box remained. It was covered with an old piece of tarp to ...

4021. Christmas 1

Psalm 148:1-14, Isaiah 63:7-9, Matthew 2:13-18, Hebrews 2:10-18

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Greeting And Opening Litany Leader: Brothers and sisters, we gather on this day in the name of the one who has bound himself to us in love, Jesus Christ, our Lord. All: Amen. Leader: Sent from heaven and born in our lives, All: let us rejoice at the presence of Christ among us. Leader: Out of Egypt and into the land of Israel, All: he calls us his brothers and sisters. Leader: Abounding in steadfast love, All: let us remember all that God has done for us. Amen. Prayer Of The Day Leader: O Holy One of ...

4022. The Evangelist Has a Shady Past

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

After listening to a prominent evangelist on the radio, eight‑year-old Debbie asked her six‑year‑old brother David, “Do you know about Jesus?” Expecting a new slant on the old story, David replied, “No.” Sister said, “Sit still because this is really scary.” After explaining the gospel as only an eight‑year‑old could, she popped the question. “Now, David, when you die, do you want to go to heaven to be with Jesus, God, your Mommy and Daddy, and big sister, or do you want to go to the lake of fire to be ...

4023. When the Caterers Weren’t Available

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Today’s lesson is on one of Jesus’ best known miracles, the feeding of the 5,000. Of course, as someone has noted, if Jesus were alive today, he wouldn’t be allowed to get away with half the miracles he performed. It’s not just that we live in such a skeptical, rationalist age. It’s all the red tape as well. Here are a few examples. Turning water into wine. This would provoke immediate protests from the alcoholic beverage industry, who would argue that it was unfair competition, amounting to a monopoly. It ...

4024. The Miegakure Messiah

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

These are the high holy days of gardening season. Everything is at its peak — beans, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers. If you planted zucchini you are probably carrying a sack full of those green torpedoes around in your back seat, trying desperately to give them away to friends and neighbors. [If you have some to give away to those present, all the better.] In North America gardens are usually straightforward and straight-rowed. Planted for ease of watering and weeding, for maximum efficient use of the land, for ...

4025. The Fred Factor

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

A couple of months ago, I read the book Good to Great, in which Gillette was named as a great company. But I was having a hard time getting my mind around what made it so great. Did those executives, engineers, and assembly workers really wake up each morning thinking, "Today is the day that we are going to create an even better razor that will produce smoother legs and faces around the world"? Do people really get charged about that? Am I missing something? Then a friend gave me a small book called The ...

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