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 4101 to 4125 of 4977 results

4101. What Were You Thinking?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Tony Everett

... case before the mountains; and let the hills hear your voice ... O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!" (Micah 6:1, 3). Sometimes in our own, exhausting, stressful lives just showing up to worship is too much. Just keeping afloat in the storms of our own life is demanding enough. When we are able to attend worship, we want to experience some comfort. We want something that will make us happy. And now God expects even more! It seems like there's never enough time, never ...

4102. What Did The Turkey Say? (Or Contentious Communities)

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

Sermon

Tony Everett

... a breach between rich and poor, powerful and vulnerable, haves and have nots. It's easy for us to speak and act as if God favors us "heroes" just a little bit more than those "chumps" who never darken the church doors. After all, we keep the fast by our worship and committees and offerings. They do not, and they probably don't even care. Listen to Isaiah's denunciation of these hypocritical attitudes and religious practices: Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers ...

4103. Losers, Weepers

Isaiah 49:8-16a

Sermon

Tony Everett

... , and then sends us on mission trips into the world. In our text, God declares to his servant people! "... I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people ..." (Isaiah 49:8). Because God finds and keeps them, therefore, these "losers and weepers" are able to assert themselves in specific acts of witness and rebuilding, "saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,' to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves' " (Isaiah 49:9). Because God, in Christ, has found and kept us, therefore, we "losers and ...

4104. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... putting it off. We need to practice our faith moment by moment, very much in the present, and to that end, we should not confuse delaying gratification with delaying to do what will help others or what will fix a troubling situation. But we also need to keep the long view — the kingdom view — in mind so that the ways we spend ourselves today are not just for the immediate kick, but also as an investment in God's kingdom to come. Amen. 1. Dr. Burton L. Visotzky, The Genesis of Ethics (New York: Crown ...

4105. The Ladder from Our House

Genesis 28:10-19a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... demonstrating what a conniving rascal he still is, he responds to the dream with the following vow: If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace ... , then the Lord shall be my God....If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house ...

4106. Headed in the Right Direction

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... so that [today] by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures...." And there is the future into which we must direct our lives with the assurance that "we might have hope." This is how life is lived, isn't it? Past, present, future. The challenge is to keep all three dimensions together in a healthy balance whether in the season of Advent or in our lives. We know how too much emphasis on the past can lead to the death of the present. As the old cliché points out, you can't move ahead looking ...

4107. All About Me?

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... were like a multiple choice essay exam — choose any three out of ten. But is that what these are all about, our ability to keep a set of odious requirements? If that is the case, then why have the rabbis always referred to the law as God's ... I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a ...

4108. A Living Hope (If It Hadn’t Been for Easter)

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

David O. Bales

... values, changing your behavior, changing your hope so that you can help change the world with Jesus Christ? When I meet old friends in the ministry, I always ask, "What's new in your faith? What's God doing right now in your life?" Christian hope isn't about keeping the world the way it is or the way we thought it was or should have been, but making it better. Jesus does it by making us better. That's what Jesus strains toward and hopes for — our changing for the better. We won't get everything done here ...

4109. Pentecost ... Again!

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... call the Holy Spirit "the neck." As a result, all the members of the body are essential and important if the body is to function properly. I know that we sometimes honor some parts of our body more than others. Some parts of our bodies so embarrass us that we keep them covered most of the time. Other parts we flaunt and display so much that you would think that a pretty face or muscular arms are all that matter. But in the church, all those parts are needed and important to the health of the body. We can't ...

4110. Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... if the North will win the war very soon. What are you going to do with all that Confederate money? If you are smart, you will cash in your Confederate currency for US dollars, the only money that will have any value after the war is over. You keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your basic needs for the short time until you return to the North. The currency of this world will be worthless at your death or at Christ's return. For you to accumulate vast earthly treasures in the face of the inevitable ...

4111. All In The Family

Genesis 9:18-29

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... names, and my grandparents’ names. Do you think my grandparents have parents? They do, and do you know what grandparents’ parents are called? They’re called great-grandparents! My great-grandparents are (insert great-grandparents’ names and write them on the tree). Now, we could keep going with this chart and it would get rather large, but I want to talk about your family trees. You see, I’ve been doing some research and I discovered an ancestor for each one of you. Do you know what his name is ...

4112. Handmade By God

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... .” Each one of us is so special to God that he took the time to get to know us even before we were made! Each one of you is so special that God even keeps track of how many hairs are growing out of your head. When you comb your hair in the morning and a few hairs fall out and stick in the comb, God even keeps track of that. He does this because he loves you very much. Even on the worst day of your life, even when you feel like no one cares, it’s important to remember that ...

4113. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Friend, we are that lost person if we have never opened ourselves fully to the love of Jesus Christ. We are the lost sheep, we are the lost coin, we are Herman struggling in the waves as the Kon-Tiki moves farther and farther away if we are still keeping Christ at arm’s distance and have never opened ourselves fully to him. Don’t worry I’m not a backwoods evangelist softening you up for an altar call. I am burdened, however, that so many people who drop in at church from time to time are so casual ...

4114. There's Something about Con Men

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... Navy destroyer, it was his duty to open a particular valve. Unfortunately, the valve control, the size of a steering wheel, seemed to be stuck. After his best efforts failed to budge it, he reported his difficulty to the chief. The chief told him to keep trying and that he would send “Tiny” to help him. Soon what appeared to be the largest sailor in the Navy loomed over the young sailor. The sailor grinned, thinking that Tiny would solve his problem. But instead of taking the wheel in hand, Tiny merely ...

4115. Radiate Love

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ] Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. [5] Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you ... of "philos," that's the spirit of mutual love. We may not be able to get everyone to love us in return, but that should never keep us from giving our love. Because love is the key to life and faith. The author reminds us that the measure of our new life in ...

4116. Step Into The Vision

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... both reinforcements and supplies. Things weren't desperate but they were getting close. They'd radioed headquarters several times and were finally given these instructions. "Troops and supplies are currently being deployed. Suggest you procure a pair of binoculars, go out on the roof and keep your ears to the ground." I've loved binoculars ever since I was a kid. Early in our marriage, I had to have a pair. They weren't very powerful but owning a pair of binoculars was one of those guy things you just had ...

4117. Swept Clean

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Day Care their children have been in and they decide to save money by opening their own Day Care called, Daddy Day Care. Of course the movie is about all the trials and tribulations of the Dads doing Day Care. At one point, after facing battle after battle to keep the day care open, Charlie decides to quit and go back to work at the ad agency because they've offered him twice what he was making before. He goes back to work on an ad campaign to sell a brand new children's breakfast cereal called Cotton Candy ...

4118. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... don't call them demons today. We'd label most of the demons as mental or physical disabilities. But I believe the demons still abound. Oh, not the kind you need to exorcise with a priest, but the demons of our past, the demons that keep us from being whole, the demons that bind us and keep us from being all that God wants us and created us to be. These demons do the very same thing that "Legion" was doing to this man. They bind us to our past and fill us with self destructive tendencies and behavior. We act ...

4119. Sitting at the Big People Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . It's nothing but empty calories. And were we to try to live off the offal of the world's table, we would waste away to nothing; slowly starving to death while thinking we were filling ourselves. That's why Giving Thanks is so important. It keeps us focused on God. It keeps us focused on what Christ has done for us. An unthankful heart is just as distasteful to God as that Turkey my Aunt cooked. But with A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE we can GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS and GIVE THANKS TODAY or any day. 1. An original ...

4120. It's Just A Little Thing

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... now, will he let us go?" (1) That story is a good reminder that preachers need to follow the old KISS principle. You know: Keep It. Simple Stupid. It also reminded me of how everyone, even the little ones, like to put there two cents worth in. And this ... officer, "Well, sir, last week Jesus came into my heart and now I belong to him. Since then, every time I shine somebody's shoes, I keep thinking they're shoes that belong to Jesus, so I do the very best I can. I want Jesus to be pleased!" (2) It was just ...

4121. Made Perfect In Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, [7] even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. [8] Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, [9] but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness ...

4122. Chosen

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Have you ever thought about the company you keep? Who you hang with? The people you associate with? Most of us don't. Our parents did or do when we're teenagers. Who ... His deep love for the disciples. Let's look at what He says. John 15:9-17 (NRSV) [9] As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. [10] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. [11] I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in ...

4123. WWF: Smack Down In The Wilderness

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... delivered to the house. Laura is bound and determined not to let her curiosity get the best of her. But it doesn't work. She walks past the package and looks at it but then ignores it. She moves it. She kicks it. She tries to ignore it but it keeps calling her name. She finds herself drawn more and more to the package. First she makes a little rip. Then tears the package a little. Then the peeks inside but can't see a thing. She gets disgusted with herself but continues to come back. She finally gets the ...

4124. Don’t Blow Off What Is God-Breathed!

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... case of versitis. The Bible wasn’t written in chapter and verse, but in letters and songs and stories. But we aren’t reading the Bible the way it was written. Biblical scholars rely upon the “chapter and verse” divisions in scripture to keep their place and order their inquiries. Sunday schools may no longer conduct “sword drills” which sent students on frantic page-turning searches for surgically extracted single verses. But we still think that to verify is to versify. Yet the slice-and-dice ...

4125. People of the Book

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

... Charlton Heston isn’t listed in either the concordance or the table of contents. Catching the kids reading the Song of Solomon, you demand: “Who gave you this stuff?” You keep falling for it every time when pastor tells you to turn to First Condominiums. And the No. 1 sign you may not be reading your Bible enough: The kids keep asking too many questions about your usual bedtime story: “Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors.” (Author unknown) Nearly 80 percent of Americans say the Bible ...

Showing results