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 4151 to 4175 of 4957 results

4151. Peter, Our Folk Hero

Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... together. Let’s look at our hearts together. I pray I would have the strength to die before I would deny that Jesus is my Lord. I have friends in other sections of the world — in Estonia and Hungary — people around the world who are having to risk death in claiming Jesus as Lord. But I doubt if you or I will be put in that position. So how do we deny Him? In all the ways we resist his will — that’s blatant denial. And none of us have to probe very deeply to locate even recent times when we ...

4152. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

... influence was enormous. However, he was not without his critics. Some have seen Spock as the leader in the move toward more permissive parenting. They have blamed him for the generation that wanted to “do their own thing.” Even Norman Vincent Peale claimed in the late 1960s that “the U.S. was paying the price of two generations that followed the Dr. Spock baby plan of instant gratification of needs.” Spock answered that he never advocated instant gratification. (4) Anyway, even Spock was not perfect ...

4153. The Christ Connection

Colossians 1:9-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... another, just like I have served you? Human nature being what it is, realize the heights and potentials within you. In Christ, we see life as it was meant to be. Christ, the Son of God, where would the world be without you? Even those who do not claim You as Savior and have yet to crown You as Lord, acknowledge you to be the greatest moral leader who ever walked the face of the earth. You have touched our world, inspiring human kind with a dignity that is often denied, a community that is often compromised ...

4154. We Hold These Truths To Be Essential

1 Peter 3:8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , let the Bible be our guide. The word of God does contain all things necessary for our salvation. From its Genesis stories of creation to its final revelation of Jesus Christ reigning forever and forever, we are immersed in a story of God's determination to claim His own. If you want to understand the problem of evil, read the Bible. If you need to know that God loves you, read the Bible. When searching for guidelines of human behavior and patterns of conduct for yourself and your family, read the Bible ...

4155. Turning Evil Into Good

Genesis 45:1-8a, 50:19-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a song in my heart today, A song of joy, Hallelujah. Joseph discovered that no child of God should ever stay in a pit. The story of Joseph illustrates a person is forever finding the grace of God to get out of the pit, to redeem the moment, and to claim the time. God himself found Joseph there and provided a way of escape. Lewis Smedes writes in one of his books, “When I flopped into nothingness, I fell into the hands of God. I was held and would not be dropped. I was supported and would not sink. I was ...

4156. An Invitation to Christian Discipleship

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of Nazareth requests the honor of your presence. The risen Christ invites you to a personal, daily relationship with him. A faithful friend, Jesus, asks you today, “Will you follow me? Will you go with me all the way?” By the waters of baptism we are cleansed and claimed as children of God. By the rivers of life we are called and challenged to follow Jesus—to go with him all the way. Jesus is calling for you today to: COME AND SEE. Check out the scene. About once a year I go shopping. Usually around ...

4157. Doing What Disciples Do

John 15:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... question, “Why do you preach the same sermon every week?” The pastor replied, “When the congregation learns to practice this one, I’ll write a new one.” Love, love, love, love. Discipleship in a single word is love. By the waters of baptism we are claimed as children of God and cleansed of our sin. By the rivers of life we are called to be faithful disciples and challenged to love one another. “A new commandment I give you,” says Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” What do ...

4158. How Can Jesus Save Me?

John 3:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the Qur'an apply the word “love" to Allah. Aristotle once said it would be eccentric for anyone to assume that Zeus loved them. The Bible reveals God's reckless desire to get His family back. So, the Cross stands as a symbol of how far God will go to claim His own; that somehow God, Himself, is dying there for you and me. Paul put it this way in Romans 5:8, God demonstrated His love for us in this: While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Divine love is activated at the cross. When our son Wes ...

4159. We Believe in Jesus Christ

John 20:19-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... where an uneducated preacher got up and said of the deceased: “Ed is dead. Nobody is going to help Ed. Time has run out for Ed. He is in the hands of the righteous and merciful judge. As for the rest of you here, there is still time left to claim Jesus as your Savior." Then he leaped into an acrobatic 45 minute sermon on how people present had better accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and start on a journey of faith before it was too late. As we assembled to our cars, I was irate. I said ...

4160. How Can We Stand on Holy Ground?

Psalm 24:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... find him though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:22-28). You are God breathed. You are God made. You are God known. You are God sought. You are God redeemed. You are God claimed. His child and forever you are. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. They will receive a ...

4161. The Constant God in a Changing World

Psalm 48:1, 9-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people so that you may wish for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so you can do what others claim cannot be done." Forever and ever, God is God. His love is unfailing. His righteousness is unquestionable. IV. THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ARE UNDISPUTABLE. “Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments" (Psalm 48:11). God does ...

4162. The Kingdom for Which We Long

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... is near.” This kingdom, said Jesus, may be as small as a mustard seed, or as quiet as yeast in bread, but powerful things come in small packages and don’t necessarily make a lot of noise. We do not create the kingdom of God, we only claim it. We do not build the kingdom of God, we only bow to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. One day a seminary professor approached Jesus and asked “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Immediately the professor gives his own answer. “You ...

4163. The Bread We Daily Need

Luke 11:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... greedy self-centeredness got him in the pig pen. Fallen TV evangelist, Jim Baker, said, “I came to realize such greedy self-centeredness gets a lot of people in the pen, including myself. I believed the prosperity gospel. I told people when you want a new car claim it and be sure to specify the options and colors you want. I was wrong.” We do not pray in the Lord’s prayer ‘give me this day what I want.’ We pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” We are created for community. Hunger kills ...

4164. Checking Out the Scene

John 1:35-42

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus said it plainly: “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” By the waters of baptism we are claimed and cleansed. Along the river of discipleship we are shaped and formed into Christ-likeness. Salvation is God’s free gift to us. The best we can do is to receive it with grateful hearts. Discipleship is a life long developmental process. Are you a ...

4165. News Too Good To Tell

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of a little Catholic chapel whom I needed to please in ministry and whom I was serving. I went back to that church and we had eight wonderful years of service together. God will not desert you in your hour of need. He will come to you. He will claim you as His own and make His will known. In the last sermon he preached on earth, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. He talked about being on the mountaintop. Listen to what he says, “Well, I don’t know what will happen ...

4166. Where Is He?

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... normal procedure: no visions, visitants, portents, unless, of course, you consider the star that led us all that dreadful way (a matter of celestial science, actually, hardly a sign available to the public at large). Oh yes, there were local peasants who claimed to have seen a whole sky full of angels but had only their sheep for witnesses; that, and a look of late and joyous dignity. We had brought gifts—gold for prosperity, frankincense for atmosphere and sweetness, myrrh, a preservative symbolizing his ...

4167. Finding Our Reason For Being

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... lost without God? Do you believe that lost people matter to God? Do we have any responsibility to introduce lost people to Jesus Christ? In 1990 14.3 million Americans said they had no religion. By 2001 the number had grown to 29.4 million who claim no religious affiliation. Mission field is no longer around the world; it is around the neighborhood, in the school, on the job, at the soccer field. We no longer need to send people around the world; we need to become missionaries ourselves, convinced of the ...

4168. The Family As Church

2 Timothy 1:3-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... is communicating God’s care. When a father bandages a cut, he is extending God’s healing. When families play together, they experience God’s joy. When families forgive, they practice God’s grace. Families learn they are sacred communities when they begin to name and claim the many forms of God’s grace in their daily life. B. Faith deepens by belonging. Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity. Such a thought anchored me as a child. Now I belong ...

4169. A Whole New Set of Values

Luke 9:51-62

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... to serve here at church. So I'd like to pray for God's strength for you in the face of this new success." Probably we'd be taken aback. But as Brown Taylor notes, that is only because we do cordon off parts of our lives from the total claims Jesus makes on us. We act as though we are our own after all and so why would the church have anything to say to us so long as life is chugging along smoothly? If we ask that, however, we reveal that we, too, quietly resist the same self-denying ...

4170. Dime Store Wisdom

Luke 9:51-62

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... have calculated that every word I used to turn young Woolworth down cost me a million dollars.' Jesus wants his followers to consider what they are in for, but he does not want them to waste their lives over the matter without ever making up their minds. The all-consuming claim of Jesus is too important! Matters of the Kingdom of God just will not wait. Obedience is necessary when Jesus calls.

4171. From Anger to Courage

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the seven last words of a dying church are often, “We've never done it that way before." That is why denominations sell their souls to preserving the status quo at the expense of creative ministry. That is why Jesus with his lax attitude about the Sabbath, and bold claim to be the Son of God, and tendency to hang around with sinners got him crucified. “That's not the way we do things around here." “So they sought some sly way to kill him." II. THE CROWD IS ANGRY It's anger that spreads like wild fire ...

4172. The Power to Belong

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of land in the West to anyone who would move there to homestead it. Thousands of former city dwellers went West to wander in the wide open spaces where the deer and the buffalo roamed. They built mud huts smack dab in the middle of their newly claimed property. They were free at last, but not really. Pretty soon they came to see their new- found freedom as a prison. They moved their homes to a common corner, where four families, at least, could share their lives and deaths, their joys and sorrows, their ...

4173. Why Am I a Christian?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. I am a Christian because I've never been anything else. II. I AM A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE I'VE BEEN NURTURED IN A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. By the waters of baptism I was initiated into Christ's Holy Church. I've been claimed and cleansed in a community of faith. I've been affirmed and acknowledged by a denomination of people. It was the Church that communicated the Holy Spirit's message, “You are my son, whom I love, and with you I am well pleased." The Church has provided ...

4174. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... finally came up for air all he could say was "Scripture, scripture, what's the scripture?" That's when the girl came onto him a second time saying, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Love knows how to get physical, affectionate. The Church ought to claim it for what it is. I remember standing beside a friend of mine as he said goodbye to his wife of 60 years. As he viewed her body in the casket, he turned to me and said, "She's beautiful, isn't she? I just wish I could hold her ...

4175. The Power to Look Up

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and then as if it were an afterthought, although he never failed to do it, Porter would peek back into the car and say, “Keep looking up, Bubby, keep looking up." Now you know my childhood nickname. However, it's the message that I want you to claim. “Keep looking up. Keep looking up." I. KEEP LOOKING UP TO JESUS The name of the game in ancient Greece was marathon races. They invented the Music City Marathon in which twenty thousand people in our city ran a month ago. Comparing the Christian life to a ...

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