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 4963 results

4151. Ephesians 1:11-23

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and power and faith that will be available to believers on the day of their inheritance. Any suggestion that this day might also be a day of judgment or divine wrath is banished from this particular discussion. Instead the threefold experience of God's hope, glory and power await these believers. Paul's prayer specifically asks for the gift of enlightenment to open the Ephesians' hearts to the presence of those gifts. In verse 19, this prayer focuses tightly on the crucial notion and nature of God's power ...

4152. Jeremiah 31:7-14

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... s words in this section that they transform the whole tenor of the book. The "consolations" create a sweet center which makes all the rest of Jeremiah's words, no matter how gloomy, slightly honeyed. For despite all the damnations, destructions and disobedience, there is yet hope. In the midst of the worst of times, Jeremiah gives the exiled Israelites a glistening glimpse of God's promise for a new beginning. The text for today divides into two separate poetic units: verses 7-9 and 10-14. Yet they are tied ...

4153. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... s words and actions with the shadows of Judah's doom. Jeremiah preached and prophesied during the tumultuous days between Assyrian and Babylonian dominance. It was a tragic, troubling time. But from the outset, Jeremiah's prophetic message also contains kernels of hope. "To build" and "to plant" are constructive, new energy enterprises. Thus, while Jeremiah's primary role was as a pre-exilic messenger, warning the people of the Babylonian exile to come, there remained at the heart of Jeremiah's words, seeds ...

4154. Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... may be a visual embarrassment of riches to the point of clutter, but it always offers a resounding refrain of hope. It steadfastly upholds the need for continued faithfulness among believers and holds out the promise of a redeemed future. The ... terrible visions of the seventh seal, first-century Christian believers were comforted by traditional images and forms that held out divine hope. Again the flexibility of Greek verb tenses can make these final words of comfort even more vital to their audience. There ...

4155. Colossians 1:15-28

Colossians 1:15-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "mystery" is not some secret system of aeons and emanations. This mystery is the miraculous gift of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (v.27). The word "mystery" is a kind of shorthand that includes several theological concepts. To the Colossians, Paul ... plan for bringing redemption to both Jews and Gentiles. In this "mystery" of "Christ in you" the "you" is plural. The "hope of glory" is this proffered salvation to both Jew and Gentile, not some distant, eschatological glorification. Laboring to bring about ...

4156. A Burden or a Song

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

... stern taskmaster. He is seen as a patrolman in the sky, wanting to cut down on our speed and make us obey all the rules. I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that the prevalent image of the Christian gospel goes something like this: God wants us all to be good. And ... burden or a song. His faith is the most real thing in his life! His faith is his single greatest source of meaning and strength and hope. Of course it’s a song – a song of joy! And that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Let’s all grow to ...

4157. More Than Feelings (Weddings)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

James McCormick

... love is more than a feeling. I know that what you are feeling for one another at this moment is beautiful. And, all of us here, your family and your friends, consider it to be a special privilege to share in the beauty of this moment with you. But I hope you will understand when I say that there will be times in your marriage when you will not feel about one another exactly as you do just now. There will be times in your marriage when you will not like each other very much - and that’s normal. There is ...

4158. Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in this gross miscarriage of justice, the Zealots reasoned, would help the common people see how incestuously Corrupt the relationship had become between the Roman government and high Jewish officials. Not unlike the mood of the nation's 1992 political campaign, the hope was that by throwing out the "incumbents" some real political progress could be gained. Matthew 26:16 marks a climactic shift in the Gospel's tone. The Greek apotote or "from that moment" designates the beginning of a new time period - an ...

4159. Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the daily prayer cycle. The Old Testament, especially the Psalms, never shrinks from calling for God's wrath to spill down on those who persecute Israel. As God's "chosen," people, the Israelites never hesitated to call on that special relationship in hopes of punishing their enemies. The attitude taught by Jesus and (sporadically) practiced by Christians called for a different set of standards to be followed. Verse 17 picks up the theme from verse 14, giving as a partial reason for this attitude the ...

4160. The Most Stubborn Man in the Bible

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... we learn from the story of Jonah and the big fish?” Eight-year-old Suzy thought for a moment and answered, “Always travel by air.” Well, I hope that’s not the only thing we learn from the story of Jonah. Most of you know at least part of the story of the prophet Jonah. ... Nineveh and the people of Israel. We all belong to one great family, and Christ died for everyone’s sins. I hope that, as Jonah thought about his past attitudes, he came to realize that God’s grace was sufficient for him as well ...

4161. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of all regular customers. The more “intentional” sharing we do is with those to whom we feel emotionally close. We share hopes and dreams with our spouse. We share history and historic battles with our brothers and sisters. We share love, guilt, ... infected them with forgiveness. Jesus broke the law by letting the “sinner” woman touch him (Luke 7:39), and infected her with hope for her future. Henry Vaughan wrote a poem called “The Revival” in which there appears these two lines: And here in the ...

4162. Thin Spaces

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... this referred to his following his shadow. JUST STOP IT. It sounded like permission. No, it was more than permission. It was a command. But could he…really? He’d never lived any other way but this. And so, the Voice made him feel caught between joy and hope, on the one hand, and fear and dread, on the other. About this time the sun came up, and with it the powerful tug of his growing shadow. He tried to resist it, but could not. But all that day, even as he obediently followed his shadow, the memory ...

4163. Pastoral Prayer for First Sunday of Lent

Mark 1:9-15

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... , and are grateful. Lead us now, O God, as we seek, in this season of Lent, to journey with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Lead us in righteousness, that our journey might be a journey in which we embrace Christ's ways of compassion and justice, grace and mercy, hope and right living. Lead us, God, in peace, as we seek to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Fill us with a peace that passes all human understanding, a peace the world cannot give to us, neither can it take away. But, holy God, let us never be satisfied ...

4164. The Holy Plus Sign

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... plus sign in our lives daily. It tells us of the advantages of being a Christian and accepting the forgiveness God offers through the cross. Through the cross God did what only God can do. God transformed a horrible instrument of torture and death into a symbol of life and hope. God transformed tragedy into triumph; humiliation into glory; despair into hope. God took what was ugly and cruel and violent and transformed it into a thing of beauty and a symbol of peace.

4165. Lent 5

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 12:20-36

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... spiritual hunger which is not being satisfactorily met by mainline churches. Millions have left the churches for more than 200 cults and sects which are experiencing phenomenal growth. Like the Greeks, they are coming to see Jesus. The people in the pews also look up to the pulpit in the hope they will be shown Jesus. But what do we want to see in Jesus? Outline: Why did you come to see Jesus? a. To see his miracles? b. To see a man preach and teach? c. To see a man suffer and die? 3. The hour of death the ...

4166. It's Not a Snuggie Love

Mark 15:1-15, Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... become a totally different person. *Shy, reserved people scream until hoarse. *Non-violent, peace-activists holler for their team to “kill’em!” *Guys who don’t like to take their shirts off at the beach, paint their bellies blue or green or orange, and hope to get their hairy paunch on national television. *A stadium full of strangers will energetically work together to create “the Wave.” In a crowd your own behavior doesn’t have to make sense. What you do doesn’t have to be well thought-out ...

4167. Baptism Of Our Lord

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8, Acts 19:1-22, Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... night. This calls for "morning" and "evening." Note the order: "And there was evening and there was morning." We usually reverse them: morning and then evening. God ends the day with the morning. The morning of life follows the evening of death. The morning of hope comes after the evening of despair. Epistle: Acts 19:1-7 1. Heard (v. 2). Here is a surprising situation. Paul finds "Christians" in Ephesus who believed in Jesus, but they had not received the Spirit. Not only did they not have the Spirit, they ...

4168. Epiphany 5

Isaiah 40:1-31, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... has made him free from being obligated to men and made him free to be all things to all men in the hope of winning them to Christ. Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 Jesus begins his public ministry with healing both physical and mental illnesses. He ... we have not only compassion but the power of Jesus to heal. Love always gives us a lift, a lift from sickness to health, from despair to hope, from sin to holiness and from death to life. 2. Served (v. 31). Did Jesus heal the woman to get service from her? At once Peter's ...

4169. Epiphany 7

Isaiah 43:14-28, Mark 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 43:18-25 The Jews are in exile in Babylon. Deutero-Isaiah sees hope in the future. God will use Cyrus, the Persian, to defeat the Babylonians. Then the Jews will be free ... and comes now to us through the text. Outline: What is the Word from God? a. A Word of accusation vv. 22-24. b. A Word of forgiveness v. 25. c. A Word of hope vv. 18-21. 2. When God gets tired of us (43:18-25). Need: Man gets tired of God "You have been weary of me." (v. 22) But God also gets tired of man " ...

4170. Lent 1

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 12:20-36

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

4171. Proper 13

2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a, John 6:25-59, Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... out the Christian life. 2. One (vv. 4-6). Seven times the word, "one," is used. Repetition indicates the importance of the word in the thinking of Paul. On one side is the word "all," and on the other side is "one." All are to be one in Christ, in hope, faith and love. This unity is demanded because we have one God, one faith and one Spirit. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: John 6:24-35 1. What are you hungry for? (6:25-29). Need: There is a famine in the land. In some lands, the famine is physical the lack ...

4172. Proper 18

Proverbs 22:1-16, Mark 7:24-37, James 2:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... millionaires in our land, the less fortunate have a tendency to disparage the rich. Often they are referred to as "the filthy rich." Yet, God does not cross the rich off his list because they have money, for he is their "maker." They are his creatures and hopefully also his children. It is not wealth but the attainment and use of wealth that may be sinful. A Christian can be rich with good conscience when wealth is used responsibly as an opportunity to serve. Outline: For the rich to be God's people – a ...

4173. Proper 26

Mark 12:28-34, Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . b. Obtains our redemption v. 12. c. Is without blemish v. 14. WORSHIP RESOURCES Psalm Of The Day: Psalm 146 "I will praise the Lord as long as I live." (v. 2); Psalm 119:1-16 Prayer Of The Day: "Lord, when the day of wrath comes we have no hope except in your grace. Make us so to watch for the last days that the consummation of our hope may be the joy of the marriage feast of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Hymn Of The Day: "Lord Of Light, Your Name Outshining"

4174. Proper 27

Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 3:1-18, Ruth 4:13-22, Mark 12:35-40, Mark 12:41-44

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . She lost her husband and two sons. She was in a foreign land. As a widow she had no income and therefore faced poverty. But, her end was one of good fortune due to the blessing of God. The story of Naomi gives hope that God will do the same for all who are presently prisoners of misfortune. The hope is that the end will be better than the present. Outline: The end can be better – a. Let God have his way with your life v. 13. b. Be grateful for God's blessings vv. 14-17. Epistle: Hebrews 9:24-28 ...

4175. Anybody NOT seeing red?

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... all bankruptcies and legal troubles that are on the increase), and clinical psychologists (who benefit from a land-office business in depression!). If you’re not seeing “red,” your real name is Rip Van Winkle. Wake up. The frog in the pot has come to a boil. Hope you like frog’s legs. It’s not just Chicken Little who is wearing a hard-hat from all that’s falling from the sky. It almost makes you want someone to put some Valium in the water so that everyone and chill out and calm down. During ...

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