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 4026 to 4050 of 4963 results

4026. River of Disappointment

Mt 21:1-11

Illustration

King Duncan

... to the west. Mackenzie's earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn't empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the "River of Disappointment." Jesus was now face-to-face with his River of Disappointment. He knew it would ...

4027. The End of the World

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Donald Dotterer

... , we find a way up and over that wall of rock. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:25)." My friends in Christ, our hope is grounded in the gift of eternal life which we receive this day - it is our way out of the valley of darkness and despair through which all of us walk at one time or another in our lives. This gift of eternal life does not begin at death. It ...

4028. A Fork in the Road

John 20:1-18

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... distance. This is the path that sees a world full of miracles. This is the way of blessing, the path of gratitude. I am convinced that it is the risen Christ who stands at this parting of the ways. If the good news of Easter is true, then we have hope, and it is hope that sustains us when we face our darkest hours.

4029. Jesus Wuvs Me and Dat's Dat

John 15:1-5

Sermon

James W. Moore

... “Christ’s presence always with them” is what kept the early disciples going. It gave them strength and assurance and hope and courage and comfort and inspiration. That’s exactly what it does for us… so we need to stay strongly and ... not in order to gain heaven, but in gratitude for what God has already done for us in Christ. The Good theology here is that our only hope is the grace of God,… the amazing grace of God in Jesus Christ. Like the minister said: “Except for the grace of God, we don’t ...

4030. Believe in Jesus

Acts 16:25-34

Sermon

James W. Moore

... told. But then one day, Paul stopped his preaching long enough to heal the slave-girl’s troubled mind. When her owners saw that she was now in her right mind, they were afraid she wouldn’t be able to read the future anymore… and their hope of making money through her might be gone. So, they turned on Paul and Silas in anger… and brought charges against them. Paul and Silas were arrested immediately. They were stripped and beaten severely with rods. Then, they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ...

4031. Love Came Down at Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... anybody even knew I was in prison.” During his time of imprisonment, Tom Southerland could hear a radio that the guards had. It was tuned into the BBC channel… and everyday Tom Southerland would listen intently to the newscast… hoping and praying that he might hear his name… hoping and praying that the newscaster would talk about him on the air and tell the story of his imprisonment and his innocence. But his name was never mentioned so he assumed that nobody in the United States even knew that ...

4032. The Bloodline of Christ

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... very moment that the conception took place. The risen Jesus appears in that closed up, fear-filled room, where his disciples have all but entombed themselves. Not unreasonably Jesus’ followers were expecting that the Jewish authorities would be looking for them, hoping to dispatch them in some unpleasant way. Suddenly, Jesus is with them. No locked doors can keep Jesus out. To his frightened flock Jesus first issues a comforting word of “peace.” To his doubting disciples Jesus then offers the sight of ...

4033. The Gift of Newness

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... down into history, takes His church and shakes it. He wakes it up. He breathes new life into it. He gets it back on track. I hope…I trust that is beginning to happen in our time. God is beginning to stir the smoldering ashes of the church so that the flames of ... not satisfying. There was an emptiness at the center of his life. He did everything he knew to win the approval of God, hoping to achieve some kind of inner peace, but nothing worked. His was a religion of form without power. One day a man asked ...

4034. Righteousness Exalts a Nation - The Fourth of July

Sermon

James McCormick

... land. Even with our shortcomings, I must say that this nation has been able to provide more food, shelter, clothing, education, medicine, freedom, hope, and dignity to more people than any other nation in the history of the world. When we are at our best, we are ... do. Abraham Lincoln believed it too. During the worst part of the Civil War, a person came to Lincoln and said, “I surely hope the Lord is on our side.” In his wisdom, Lincoln replied, “I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that ...

4035. A Haven for Troubled Hearts - Sermon Starter

John 14:1-4

Illustration

Brett Blair

... heaven. Jesus has just had the Passover meal with his disciples. He has washed their feet in an act of servanthood. He has foretold his betrayal which Judas will soon perform. He has predicted Peter's denial. He has told them he is leaving. But he adds this word of hope: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms. I go to prepare a place for you and will come again and take you to myself. So that where I am, you may be also. Hardship ...

4036. Living as Orphans

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... dawns. Like a light turning on in Chaplin’s head, he realizes that he can’t solve this problem alone. If he is going to be helped, it has to come from the outside. In the last scene, he is seen looking upward in hope of rescue. (5) When we are in times of distress, that is our hope as well. We are not orphans. We are not alone in this world. We have a Savior, a Redeemer. Someone watches over us and cares for us. Someone who will counsel us and comfort us. Jesus says, “I will not leave you as ...

4037. The Ability to Hear - Listening

Acts 2:1-41

Illustration

Will Willimon

... the chief characteristics of the effective pastor. I want to be a good communicator, a skillful preacher. Yet before that, I know that I must be a good listener. As someone has said, "A preacher must listen for six days a week -- listening to God and to the hopes, fears, and aspirations of the congregation -- for the right to speak one day a week." I agree. Yet our modern world has also shown us how difficult, how very, very difficult, it is to hear. A number of years ago, Deborah Tannen, wrote, Why I Can't ...

4038. The Play's Playbook for the Game of Life

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it got dark, set our bodies on fire. No, it didn’t look like God was winning in the first century either. But these ancestors of ours knew something that Nero didn’t, and what they knew gave them such hope that nothing could separate them from the love of Christ: that the victory had already been won. But that hope, based on the victory that has already been won, is not a license for passivity. In no uncertain terms the Scriptures make it clear that we are not to sit and wait, but we are to move and act ...

4039. For Those Who Have Received Much (Father's Day)

Matthew 10:5-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... dad smiled back and started crying. That was the best thing I ever saw.” (1) So, the news for Dads isn’t all bad. Still, Father’s Day is known as the day grown kids call home to speak to Dad. If you got a Father’s Day present, I hope it was something you can really use. Actually, Dads, in monetary terms, what can our children give us that we cannot purchase for ourselves? In a society as affluent as ours it is a real challenge to give anyone anything they truly need. What do you give to someone who ...

4040. Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... to respond. That is us. May I say, if you are among those who have provided hard ground to the Gospel message, if you are one of those who has let the cares of this world choke out the message that God is trying to lay on your heart, I hope you understand that ultimately the responsibility is upon you to provide “good soil.” Only for so long can you blame the poor efforts of the person in the pulpit or the so-called hypocrites in the church. Sooner or later you are going to have to answer for yourself ...

4041. Sleep With the Lions Without Being Eaten

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

James Merritt

... had seniority, he had superiority. He was old on the outside, but he was young on the inside. His outward man was perishing, but his inward man was being renewed day by day. You know, when I get old, I may suffer from arteriosclerosis, but I hope I never suffer from psychosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is hardening of the arteries, but psychosclerosis is hardening of the attitudes. Daniel's spirit was as young as ever. It was winter time on his face, but it was spring time in his heart. But they also found ...

4042. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... into Your hands I commend My spirit." (Lk. 23:46) I don't believe anything is more revealing of the heart of a person than what he is saying as he knows he's going to die. These statements of our Lord, if understood properly, can become anchors of hope that can secure the ship of your life in the stormy seas of sin, sorrow, and death. Each one answers a question, meets a need, or solves a problem. This first statement deals with the problem of bitterness, and answers the question: How can sinful man have a ...

4043. Food For Thought

1 Peter 1:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... from the moment they get saved to the moment they are taken to heaven. a. Anticipation Peter advises us in v.13 to "rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." That is, we are to fix our ... the life. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies." c. Reconciliation Peter goes on to say, "so that your faith and hope are in God." Now understand what Peter was saying. You can only believe in God through Jesus. You can only know God through Jesus. Jesus ...

4044. Gentle On My Mind (Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... to carry out certain duties of the Christian life in the spirit of meekness and gentleness. a. We Are To Defend the Faith with Meekness "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ, may be ashamed. (1 Pet. 3:15-16) You see, we are not only to declare our faith, we are to defend ...

4045. What Child Is This?

Isaiah 9:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... made right; and where darkness is turned into light. Why was this child born? Why was this Son given? He was given to show the glory of God, to share the grace of God, and to send the goodness of God. THE PRINCE OF PEACE To us a Child of hope is born, to us a Son is given; Him, shall the tribes of earth obey, Him, all the hosts of heaven. His name shall be the Prince of Peace, forevermore adored; The Wonderful, the Counselor, the Great and Mighty Lord. His power, increasing, still shall spread; His reign no ...

4046. The Love of the Harvest

John 4:34-38

Sermon

James Merritt

... , when out of nowhere came a little old white-haired man. He said to me, "Excuse me, sir, I would like to ask you a question. I hope it won't offend you, but tell me, if you were to die today, where would you be in eternity? The Bible says it will either be ... out of nowhere came a little old white-haired man who said to me, "Excuse me, sir, but I would like to ask you a question. I hope it won't offend you, but tell me, if you were to die today, where would you be in eternity? The Bible says it will either be ...

4047. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

John 16:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... is the preeminent sin. In a word, unbelief is the unpardonable sin. God can forgive a man of practically any sin; I do not care how horrible, hurtful, or heinous it might be. But if a man dies steadfastly refusing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no hope for him. The sin of unbelief is actually a twofold sin. It is a sin of commission and it is a sin of omission. It is the sin of rejecting Jesus, and therefore the sin of refusing to receive the Lord Jesus. Do you understand today that the only ...

4048. Why Were the Wise Men Wise?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... to give thought to an adaptation of the poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It goes like this: ‘Twas the night before Jesus came, and all through the house Not a creature was praying, not one in the house. Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care In hopes that Jesus would not come there. The children were dressing to crawl into bed, Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head. And Mom in her rocker with the baby on her lap Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap. When out of the East there ...

4049. Don't Forget to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... of reactions to my messages, but I don't believe I've ever made anybody itch." Well, the lady didn't even laugh. She said, "I'm very serious. I've gone to doctor after doctor, and no one can tell me what is wrong, and I was hoping you could help me." Dr. Peale said he thought immediately that perhaps her itching did not have a physical cause, but a mental or even spiritual cause. Dr. Peale, with her permission, called her doctor. The doctor told Dr. Peale that, in his opinion, there was nothing physically ...

4050. O Little Town of Bethlehem

Micah 5:2

Sermon

James Merritt

... know that song as "O Little Town of Bethlehem." That song perfectly captures the beauty of Christmas. Little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight. Then we all know the last stanza: Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today! We hear the Christmas angels, The great glad ...

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