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 4276 to 4300 of 4972 results

4276. Someone Had Tripped the Switch

Acts 2:1-21

Illustration

James W. Moore

... car. They were stripped of any form of dignity and absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler's extermination centers. But which one? Would it be Auschwitz, Buchenwald, or Dachau? Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately ...

4277. The Easiest Part of Being a Mother Is Giving Birth

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

Erma Bombeck

... directions) when my toddler son got away from me. Just outside the door, he ran toward a machine holding bubble gum in a glass dome. In a voice that shattered glass, he shouted, "Gimme! Gimme!" I told him I would gimme him what-for if he didn't stop shouting and get in the car. As I physically tried to pry his body from around the bubble gum machine, he pulled the entire thing over. Glass and balls of bubble gum went all over the parking lot. We had now attracted a crowd. Donna Reed would have brushed ...

4278. Don't Worry! Be Happy!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” My guess is that there is someone in this room today who needs to heed these words of our Lord. You are literally worrying yourself sick over some situation over which you have no control. You need desperately to stop for a moment and consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and turn your worries over to God. You see, worry is a needless burden that keeps us from being all God created us to be. That is the conclusion of well-known author ...

4279. Sermon Opener - Winning over Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... die from the five most common contagious diseases combined. Twice as many people die by suicide as die by homicide. Fifty percent more people die because of ulcers than die because of murder. Another book by a noted physician called Stop Worrying and Get Well called attention to the fact that worry causes heart trouble, high blood pressure, some forms of asthma, rheumatism, ulcers, cold, thyroid malfunction, arthritis, migraine headaches, blindness, and a host of stomach disorders. Doctors today are quite ...

4280. God Will Provide

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... London and how the fish worried about having enough water to breath and survive. As the images sank deep inside of Spurgeon he began to laugh and said, "Eat away little mouse, swim away little fish. God will provide all we need and more." And then addressing himself, he said, "Stop worrying little man, God has enough and more!" The tragedy of most of our lives is that we worry so much about tomorrow that we never claim the resources that God has provided to live today. NEW

4281. Building a Successful Life

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... achieved all my dreams in the musical world. But I was tired of the grinding schedule of hotel rooms, performances and recording sessions. It was time to go fishing. With the money I had earned I found and purchased my dream stream on a ranch in Montana. I stopped playing the guitar. I called my record company and management group at Colombia and told them I had no desire to play anymore. I had earned enough from my music that I didn’t need to work anyway. “So for several years I did everything I wanted ...

4282. The Silent Bible

Matthew 7:21-29

Illustration

Donald M. Tuttle

... in the teaching and preaching of the church and in the consciousness of the people in the pews. More than 30 years ago—back in what some see as the glory days of the church—vast sections of the Christian faith had already stopped listening to Jesus. Sermons largely ignored the biblical text. Sunday School classes were more interested in psychology than theology. Bible studies virtually disappeared as fewer and fewer of the faithful attended. Now, decades later, not a lot has changed. Today studies show ...

4283. Best Advice

Matthew 7:24-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

... to 4 examples that mean the most to your community. Then skip down and use the conclusion to this illustration.) Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, got his from his days at Salomon Brothers: "Always ask for the order, and second, when the customer says yes, stop talking." Mark Hurd, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, got his years ago from his days under NCR CEO Chuck Exley who was listening to an executive's presentation. At the end Exley said to the presenter: "Good Story, but it's hard to look smart with ...

4284. The Healing Power of Touch - Sermon Starter

Mark 5:21-43; Matt 9:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

... heard the stories of Jesus' power, she declared: If I but touch the hem of his garment I will be healed." We smile at that and say: How innocent, how naive. She reached out from the crowd and touched the garment of Jesus. Immediately he stopped, bolted upright, and asked: "Who touched me?" The disciples were taken aback. Was this some kind of rhetorical question? Who touched you? Why master, look around, everyone is touching you. The New English version quotes their words as being: "What is the purpose in ...

4285. The Special Olympic Race

Matt 9:18-34

Illustration

Brett Blair

... amazed at how good they actually were. But as they reached halfway in the race, one of the boys fell down, skinned his knee on the track, and started to cry. He said that what happened next was both beautiful and amazing. All seven of the other runners stopped, and all seven of them turned around and went to the boy who had fallen. Together they helped him to his feet. And the eight walked to the finish line together. Beck said that he then realized that he had seen the true meaning of Christianity, not in ...

4286. Don't Eat the Forbidden Fruit

Genesis 3:1-24

Illustration

Morgan Murray

... Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said. "Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey Eve! We got forbidden fruit!" "No way!" "Yes way!" "DON'T EAT THAT FRUIT!" Said God. "Why?" "Because I am your Father and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making elephants. A few minutes later God saw his kids having an apple break and was angry. Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" the First Parent asked. "Uh huh," Adam replied. "Then why did you?" "I dunno," Eve answered. "She started it ...

4287. I'll Always Be There for You!

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

Jack Canfield

... : "My son! "My daughter!" They tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying: "It's too late!" "They're dead!" "You can't help!" "Go home!" Even a police officer and a fire fighter told him he should go home. To everyone who tried to stop him he said, "Are you going to help me now?" They did not answer him and he continued digging for his son stone by stone. He needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" This man dug for eight hours and then twelve and then ...

4288. He Was a Stranger and I Took Him In

Matthew 10:24-39

Illustration

... man who made a habit of offering a verse of Scripture whenever anyone purchased something from him. The group of people who sat around the store in this rural area enjoyed the exchanges, because some of the purchases challenged the imagination. One winter day a Texan stopped in, wanting to buy a blanket for his horse. The locals knew that the store stocked two types of blankets. One sold for $60, and the expensive one cost $89.95. He showed him the first. "No, that's not good enough. I need something warmer ...

4289. Sent to the Lost Sheep

Matthew 10:24-39

Illustration

Samuel Zumwalt

... his new little rural congregation to obey the call of Christ Jesus. He gave them all index cards in worship and asked them to write down the names of every family member, every neighbor, and every co-worker they knew that didn't go to church anywhere. He stopped long enough for them to do just that in worship. When they got through writing, they had identified 1200 names. Then the preacher asked them to begin to pray for all the people on their card – to place it on the refrigerator or in their Bible as a ...

4290. Never Underestimate the Power of a Cold Cup of Water - Sermon Starter

Matt 10:40-42

Illustration

Brett Blair

Now I would like to stop the world for just one minute and ask you to think back. Think back with me to the first century. Think about those 50 years after Jesus' death and what it must been like for Jesus' disciples. Before the last one died their efforts had brought 500,000 men, women, ...

4291. All You Have to Do Is Look Up

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

A substitute Sunday School teacher couldn't open the combination lock on the supply cabinet. So she went to the pastor for help. The pastor started turning the dial of the combination lock, stopped after the first two numbers, looked up serenely toward heaven, began moving his lips silently, turned to the final number, and opened the lock. The teacher gasped, "I'm in awe of your faith, pastor." "Really," he said, "it's nothing. The number is on a piece of tape on ...

4292. The Work of the Righteous

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

Roger Ray

... nobody shot at 'em. And after they walked over the beam, suddenly all the fight was out of me. It just didn't feel like I wanted to do this anymore, at least not that day. It must have been that way for everybody, because everybody quit. We just stopped fighting." Of course, I cannot say what any of us are called to do right now. I can only say that anyone who chooses to walk with God may well be completely out of step with the expectations of the office, the neighborhood or the family. Sometimes, it seems ...

4293. Cook Food. Serve Love.

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , a Jewish vs. Gentile mission. But the best way to get to the heart of Jesus’ message is to look at what Jesus did. More than anything else Jesus spent his time, as we used to put it, “eating good food with bad people.” There is a truck stop diner in South Dakota that also keeps it simple, and it too gets the gospel just right. As diners walk in they are confronted with a big sign that reads simply: “Cook food. Serve love.” Hospitality is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus knew that we cannot ...

4294. Worship: Time to Cool Down

Matthew 11:25-30

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

... at the top of the longest grade between Nanaimo and Victoria. It was not located there for the view, nor were most of the others you can still find around North America at the tops of hills and mountains. These locations were for the convenience of people who needed to stop and let their overheated radiators cool down. That is one of the functions of Worship for many of us - a time for rest and refreshment - when we let our overheated radiators cool down.

4295. Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments

1 Peter 3:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... National Right to Life, asked the right questions: ...Since when does anyone's right to live depend upon someone else wanting them? Killing the unwanted is a monstrous evil.... Should a woman have the right to choose?...a person's right to anything stops when it injures or kills another living human.... The pivotal question is: Should any civilized nation give to one citizen the absolute right to kill another to solve that first person's personal problem?9 d. The right to choose always ignores the victim ...

4296. If I Only Had One Wish

2 Chronicles 1:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... is used nineteen times.4 I believe this is another key that unlocks the meaning of this book. Proverbs is the letter from a father about fathers and to fathers. It not only teaches a father how to lead his children, but how to live before his children. Dad, stop right here and nail this next statement to the door of your heart. Wisdom is the gift every dad can pass on to his children that will last beyond his lifetime. You can leave your children money, but eventually they will spend it. You can leave your ...

4297. Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

There’s a story going around about two women of a certain hair color who stopped at a service station on the coast of Texas and asked where the lighthouses were located. The service station attendant was a little confused and asked if there was any particular reason they were looking for lighthouses. One of them said, “We understand lighthouses have good paying jobs. There are ...

4298. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Or as Jesus put it directly, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.” So: Who are “the least of these” today? If there is no true understanding without standing under, who are those we need to stop standing over or hiding from, and instead start standing under and acknowledging as our own “kin.” Let me start with some examples that don’t immediately come to mind. One of the most recent “kinship” ties is between the countries that use up and dispose ...

4299. Automatic Faith

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Illustration

Bob Shaw

... business consultant was very busy and traveled a lot, he kept emphasizing to her the need to create his garden in a way that would require little or no maintenance on his part. He insisted on automatic sprinklers and other labor-saving devices. Finally she stopped and said, "There's one thing you need to deal with before we go any further. If there's no gardener, then there is no garden!" There are no labor-saving devices for growing a garden of spiritual virtue. Becoming a person of spiritual fruitfulness ...

4300. The Attack Never Came

Mt 13:1-23

Illustration

King Duncan

... staffed medical stations, others prayed for a miracle, while still others, astoundingly, climbed up onto the tanks, peered through the slits at the crew-cut men inside, and told them there were new orders, these from God: Thou shall not kill. The young men stopped the tanks. "The attack," said Billington, "never came." You don't have to be extraordinarily gifted to help determine the history of a nation or even the world. There's no better evidence of that than found in scripture. Few of the heroes of ...

Showing results

Showing 4276 to 4300 of 4972 results

4276. Someone Had Tripped the Switch

Acts 2:1-21

Illustration

James W. Moore

4277. The Easiest Part of Being a Mother Is Giving Birth

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

Erma Bombeck

4278. Don't Worry! Be Happy!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

4279. Sermon Opener - Winning over Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

4280. God Will Provide

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Eric Ritz

4281. Building a Successful Life

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

4282. The Silent Bible

Matthew 7:21-29

Illustration

Donald M. Tuttle

4283. Best Advice

Matthew 7:24-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

4284. The Healing Power of Touch - Sermon Starter

Mark 5:21-43; Matt 9:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

4285. The Special Olympic Race

Matt 9:18-34

Illustration

Brett Blair

4286. Don't Eat the Forbidden Fruit

Genesis 3:1-24

Illustration

Morgan Murray

4287. I'll Always Be There for You!

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

Jack Canfield

4288. He Was a Stranger and I Took Him In

Matthew 10:24-39

Illustration

4289. Sent to the Lost Sheep

Matthew 10:24-39

Illustration

Samuel Zumwalt

4290. Never Underestimate the Power of a Cold Cup of Water - Sermon Starter

Matt 10:40-42

Illustration

Brett Blair

4291. All You Have to Do Is Look Up

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

4292. The Work of the Righteous

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

Roger Ray

4293. Cook Food. Serve Love.

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4294. Worship: Time to Cool Down

Matthew 11:25-30

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

4295. Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments

1 Peter 3:15

Sermon

James Merritt

4296. If I Only Had One Wish

2 Chronicles 1:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

4297. Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

4298. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4299. Automatic Faith

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Illustration

Bob Shaw

4300. The Attack Never Came

Mt 13:1-23

Illustration

King Duncan

Showing results