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 4301 to 4325 of 4943 results

4301. Advent 1

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... COMMUNITY GATHERS Consider this: Welcome to the party! How have you prepared for this party today? How we prepare for this weekly party will determine partly, how we prepare for the final one. The Scripture gives us signs; God gives us Spirit; the Church gives us symbols. Continue with this litany between pastor and people: Pastor: Here is God's Word to us. Don't get stuck in the past; Update your faith. God keeps on doing new things. Do you perceive them? People: Yes, we come to worship to be healed of the ...

4302. The Season of the Holy Spirit

John 18:28-40

Bulletin Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... here this morning? Are you here to hear the truth as God's Spirit reveals the truth? If not, wake up. (Use an alarm clock, or some kind of sound to wake the people up.) (pause) Now, are you awake? On your mark, get set, let's get going. Continue with this litany between pastor and ministers: Pastor: Fellow adventurers in the new life in Christ the King, I have exciting news for you! Christ died for us that we might know how much God loves us and forgives us and receives us. Ministers: We come to worship ...

4303. The Season of the Holy Spirit

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... risen!" Put the emphasis on different words and ask the people to repeat. Then, use the phrase, "Christ is Lord! " emphasizing different words, and ask the people to repeat. In order to re-emphasize the fact that Christ has risen and Christ is Lord, continue with this response between pastor and people: Pastor: Who are you? All: We are described in many ways: as persons, by occupations, as husbands, wives, children, parents ... Pastor: And who do you say that you are? All: Each of us sees ourselves somewhat ...

4304. The Season of the Holy Spirit

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... hip, hip, hurray!" Call out some praise words; and ask the people to respond with "hip, hip, hurray!" Then, conclude with Iranaeus statement, "The glory of God is man/woman fully alive!" so, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, as thanksgiving, thanksliving people! You may want to continue with this response between pastor and the people: Pastor: Come on, friends, let's celebrate life with our whole selves. People: Praise be to God for our minds that we may know the mind of Christ, for our emotions that we may love ...

4305. You Provide The Bread

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

William J. Carl

... of God echoing through the ages. “You provide the bread. Let me take care of the miracle.” And by God’s grace, $300 has grown to nearly $500,000 and a few loaves have grown into hundreds of thousands of loaves as folks all over the city continue to provide the bread which God blesses and spreads to the poor and hungry of downtown Dallas. You send your money in and God does something with it. As a practical, reasonable Presbyterian, I have trouble with this idea. Even though I know it is right. As a ...

4306. The Problem With Miracles In Our Time

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

William J. Carl

... never saw things very clearly anyway, always saw more than was happening, passed on for posterity the story of Jesus’ journey on the cedar wood as if the waves themselves had borne him up (Ernst and Marie-Luise Keller, Miracles in Dispute: A Continuing Debate, trans. by Margaret Kohl, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1969, pp. 67-79). I call this one the “lumberjack log-rolling theory” which should change the joke from showing the dumb preacher where the rocks are to showing him where the logs are. We ...

4307. When Will The Pain Go Away?

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

George Johnson

... have crawled into a shell and said, "To heck with it. It's not worth the pain." He could have waited until he was more sure that everything he experienced was an accurate perception of the whole situation. Instead he prayed for wisdom and courage, but continued sharing his story. His action helped him sense a kind of solidarity with those who suffered and that kept hope alive for him. His pain took on meaning. We seldom know all the facts. New information is always needed. One should never stop looking for ...

4308. What Does It Mean To Love?

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

George Johnson

... history were locked up, off limits. People remembered only what they wanted to remember. It's no different today. But the young girl persists. She doesn't quit even though everyone tells her to drop it. She marries one of her high school teachers, and continues her research into the town's history. After some time, even her own husband turns against her. She feels alone, forsaken, even hated as someone throws a fire bomb into her apartment. They call her a communist. She is the "nasty girl" in town because ...

4309. The Strength of the Master

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... good works, especially for those who find avenues of service in the church, we are grateful. For those who serve in local churches as well as in regional, national and world organizations of the church we thank You. Grant to us the ability and the desire to continue to grow in Your service. Give us glimpses of the vastness of the Christian world enterprise and give us courage and devotion to contribute to it. Help us to envision what one person might do for You in the world. Help us to be Christian in our ...

4310. The Highway to Peace

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... in education and conversion. The swords and steeds of the Huns were no match for love. We have three possibilities for relationship with our enemies. We can attack them, which leads to mutual destruction; we can strengthen the curtains of hate between us and continue throwing stones across the barriers for years; or we can generate a positive love for our enemies and express the love in action. This is no weak, cowardly solution. This is the strongest solution possible; it is the solution of love; and love ...

4311. Who Holds the Keys to the Kingdom?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Steven Burt

... supper at his table, whom would he invite?” “He’d certainly invite children,” the pastor answered quickly, adding, “He’d invite any Christian practicing the faith.” “Any Christian?” I pressed. The young pastor gave me a puzzled look, so I continued, “How many Christians were at the Last Supper?” “None,” the pastor answered. “They were all Jews.” “That’s right,” I said. “But aside from that, if Jesus himself were offering the invitation to eat, whom would he call?” The ...

4312. The Still Small Voice

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Steven Burt

... to escape, to retreat. He heads for the mountains in his depressed, exhausted state. And look what happens. He falls asleep under a broom tree, and miraculously he is fed, nourished, sustained. Food and drink are placed there somehow by God, and EIijah is able to continue on his journey. Eventually he holes up in a cave on Mount Horeb. Maybe he fired up the woodburning stove and laid out in an easy chair. Next comes a whirlwind or a storm of some kind. But Yahweh, Elijah’s God, isn’t in the whirlwind ...

4313. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Steven Burt

... , “Come and have breakfast.” And what of Peter’s sin? What of three denials in the courtyard? Maybe Peter needed to be able to act something out to counter the three denials which were so sharply etched in his memory. Maybe Jesus sensed that. That passage continues: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to ...

4314. Small Church Communion

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Steven Burt

... much more basic is this table fellowship for the family of God. Something sacred happens to people who have shared food and drink. Wow! That bears repeating. What an incredible thought! “Something sacred happens to people who have shared food and drink.” Willimon continues: All across cultures and faiths, the act of eating together is a universal sign of unity and love. Jesus knew this. One need only recall the progression of meals in the Gospels in which he ate with saints and sinners to be reminded ...

4315. He Preached Good News

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

James Garrett

Last Sunday we examined the beginning of John’s sermon where he said the King is coming, prepare! Today we continue with that sermon. Hear the words of John, the son of Zachariah, recorded in Luke 3:7-18. John, austere preacher, calls for the multitudes to prepare the way for Christ’s coming with severe earnestness. His message is a call to repentance with actions that demonstrate an altered life. “ ...

4316. A Short Sermon

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

James Garrett

... The patient says, “Well, doc, give the good news first.” “The good news,” the doctor says, “is that you have 24 hours to live.” The patient gasps, “If that is the good news, what is the bad news?” “Well, the bad news,” the doctor continues, “is that I couldn’t reach you by phone yesterday.” Jesus said, God “anointed me” to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind. When it comes to the good news of salvation all of us ...

4317. Jesus Said: “Try Again”

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

James Garrett

... a person has failed there is always the chance that the next attempt will succeed. “Victory belongs to the most persevering,” said Napoleon. I can’t explain it but I know there are powerful kinds of good that can come into a life of a person who continues to trust, and love, and holds on. Simon Peter saw beyond the miracle. He realizes the holiness of the One in his boat. He gets a glimpse of the power and knowledge of Christ. He falls before Jesus saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man ...

4318. Luke’s Beatitudes And Woes

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

James Garrett

... laugh.Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. In direct contrast, Luke continues: Woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger.Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.Woe to you, when all men speak well of you for so their fathers did ...

4319. The Greatest Wonder Of All!

John 14:5-14

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20)." Our Lord promises that the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit will use our witness, meager as it may sometimes be, so that we become agents of God’s good news to a world which is continually cowed by bad news. So the first thing we must keep in mind is that the Holy Spirit is truly transfiguring. You and I are able to offer our witness to others without having to be concerned about saying the "right" words or doing the "right" things, as ...

4320. Our Christian I.D.

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... . He remembered the things God had done for him; he recalled the truths God had spoken to him and the people of Israel. Our Old Testament lesson this morning underlines how the Hebrew people in those days understood who they were. They continually reminded themselves that God had chosen them. They had not elected God; God had sought them out, selected them. It began with Abraham, a wandering Armenian, 2000 years before Christ. God promised that Abraham and his descendants would become a great nation ...

4321. Finding Our Roots

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... , the question he had to face was, "Does my life have meaning now?" Family gone; all possessions gone; position in the community, gone; all dignity, gone; possession only what he called, "My ridiculously naked life." Now does my being have roots? Is there any reason to continue living? Well, what is it that gives meaning to a person’s life? Their job? Their family? Their friends? What do you think? Or haven’t you thought about it lately? If the things in which our lives are rooted can be so easily swept ...

4322. The Story Of The Scandalized Neighbors

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... longing eyes, strain to see some sign of that lost son of his coming down the road. He tried hard to hide the tears which would well up inside him but everyone knew of the anguish, even if they could not understand. As you might guess, resentment in our town continued to grow toward the boy. We all agreed that Eli and Rachel were much better off without Judah. At least they could sleep at night, not having to wonder where he was or what he was doing, or if they would have to go to the hospital or the jail ...

4323. Two R-Rated Stories

John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... , she had given us our first glimpse of freedom, of newness in Christ. Somehow as young as we were we understood that it was Lily’s faith, her new life, that angered and frightened that congregation so much more than her sin." We know that the Holy Spirit is continually at work restoring, reshaping and giving new life to his people just like he did in Lily’s life and the lives of three 10-year-old girls. It is important that we as God’s people permit others to live their new life and not keep bringing ...

4324. Portrait Of A Powerful Servant

John 13:1-17

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... Lord approaches us as we come to the altar and says, "Here, take and eat, this is my body. Take this cup and divide it among yourselves." Don’t you see? Jesus asks us to keep doing this so that we might never forget that the servant Lord continues to give and give and give. One might say that the eucharist is "living proof" of God’s expensive expenditure, that he did not count the cost but gave us everything he had to give. In this dynamic experience we become recipients of God’s power and grace ...

4325. The King Who Came To Die

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... occupying land and controlling people. Dr. Alvin Rogness, president emeritus of Luther-Northwestern Seminary suggests in his book, Who Shall Be God, that if such were the nature of God's rule then he could have come on a gigantic satellite which continually circled the globe and from which he could have keep an eye on every individual. His army, thousands upon thousands of angels, would be dispatched from his celestial throne to enforce his laws, punish disobedience and force people into bowing down before ...

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