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 4946 results

4301. What If It Is True?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Well here we are already, the fourth Sunday in Advent. Christmas is just a few days away now. If you have noticed the sequence of lessons read here in church during these four weeks, they begin the first Sunday with longing, and expectation, and the hope that God will send a savior, a Messiah. Each week we move closer to that event that we as Christians believe is the event in which God kept that promise to send a savior, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. It was here at Bethlehem, we believe, that God ...

4302. Proper 6

Genesis 18:1-15, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35 – 10:8 (9-23), Matthew 9:35-38, 10:1-42, Romans 5:1-11

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 18:1-15 In their old age Abraham and Sarah are promised a son. Abraham and Sarah were childless. Yet Yahweh promised Abraham he would have progeny as numerous as the stars. Unexpectedly three men (angels?) came to Abraham's tent and were fed and refreshed generously. Before they went on their way, Sarah was promised a child by the next year. Old Testament: Exodus 19:2-8a On Sinai God tells Moses that if the people will keep the covenant, they shall be his people. Epistle: ...

4303. Travel Light

Matthew 10:9-10

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim:Christian missionaries should travel light, free of excess items. Props:A strong large backpack, a gym bag, a number of items that would be needed on a trip, and some unnecessary items. There should be too many to place in the backpack and gym bag. A few heavy items and a few long spindly items (e.g. a fully extended fishing rod) would help to weigh the child down. Other possible items: frying pan, large flash light, toothpaste, shoes, toys, heavy book, fishing pole, piggybank full of coins ...

4304. When We Are Caught in a Storm

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

James W. Moore

A man once came to a farmer and asked to be taken on as a hired hand. “What can you do?” the farmer asked him. The man replied: “I can sleep when the wind blows.” The farmer thought that was a strange answer, but he needed a worker so he hired him. Soon after, the farmer went away on a trip. A couple of weeks later, the farmer returned home one night and went to bed. But, a storm came up. Winds were blowing and lashing. The farmer woke and heard the winds and he remembered – the broken barn door – the weak ...

4305. Love Them Before You Leave Them

John 19:25-26

Sermon

James Merritt

A businessman wanted to send a floral arrangement to a friend who was opening a new branch office. His friend called later in the day to thank him for the considerate gesture, but he was a little bit confused about the card which read: "Rest in peace." The businessman apologized for the mix-up and quickly called to chastise the florist. The florist tried to brush it off, and said: "Look, it could be worse. Somewhere in the cemetery there is a bouquet with a note reading, ‘Good luck in your new location.'" ...

4306. If You're Not Loving You're Not Living (Fruit of the Spirit: Love)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

I am beginning a series of messages that I have entitled: "Home Sweet Home." These messages are going to deal with the fruit that every family tree ought to bear. I want you to imagine what your marriage would be like, what your kids would be like, what your spouse would be like, what you would be like, if the tree of your home and your heart bore the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control. Now quite frankly, if a lot of us started bearing ...

4307. Dirty Dreams and Slick Schemers

Jude 1:8-11

Sermon

James Merritt

I'm sure all of us have had dreams that are extremely strange. I have found that dreams basically fall into three categories. Some dreams can be very delightful. The next time you ladies look at your sewing machine you might remember that it was the result of a dream. As Elias Howe was working on the development of the first sewing machine, he had one problem. He could not see in his mind where to locate the eye of the needle. He was running out of money and about to shut down his invention, when one night ...

4308. Thou Shalt Not Judge - True or False?

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Alan Wolfe has recently written a new book entitled "One Nation After All." Based on inter-views with two hundred people in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Georgia, and California, Mr. Wolfe found a "new" middle class that is tolerant, non-judgmental, and reluctant to tell anyone else his or her behavior is right or wrong. He says in that book, "I see this as a place where the values of the 1960's and the values of Corporate America have come together,…the ‘60's culture is extremely relativistic and doesn't make ...

4309. The Other Side of Worship

1 John 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to turn to the person sitting next to you and do something you may have already done before, but I want you to do it again. I want you to shake hands with them. I tell you why you did that, though you didn't realize it. The custom of handshaking originated in primitive times. Men carried their weapons in their right hands, and when a man extended his empty right hand to take the hand of the other person, it meant he was coming in peace. Over the centuries the act of shaking hands, which prevents ...

4310. Proclaiming Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

It is not easy to promote someone else. Human nature rises up against it. If we believe in our self-worth and capabilities, why should we try to sell someone else? Yes, and why should we seek to gain acceptance of a religious leader, who will eventually cause us trouble. For example, Jesus for some was not only an irritant; he was an anathema as well. As usual, Saint Paul is not much interested in whether you like or accept him as a person. His driving mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. He and ...

4311. Birthpangs of the New Age

Romans 8:22-23

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

4312. Home Improvement

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God has given us a spiritual home in which to live. When will we move in? When will we appreciate the home we've been given? A recently spotted bumper sticker made the following poignant plea: "You are a child of God. Please call home." Remember the blockbuster hit movie of the early '80s, "E.T."? The strange little space alien dubbed "E.T." is accidentally left behind by his companions. Through his friendship with a human boy, the creature learns to speak the English language. The first full phrase the ...

4313. Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The significance of Paul's conversion experience along the Damascus road is evident by the fact that it is described in three separate places in Acts (9:1-22;22:3-16;26:4-18). Both the remarkable, miraculous nature of this event and the personal transformation of Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle that results from this encounter make it a tale worth telling and retelling. This first and most succinct version of the event that changed Saul into Paul reveals more than the identity of the voice and ...

4314. A Burden or a Song

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

Is your religion a load or a lift? That was a popular sermon topic during my growing up years. Preachers were fascinated with alliteration: load/lift, and they thought the idea was a catchy one, so I heard more sermons on the subject than I wanted to hear. Frankly, I never cared much for them. Do you have ideas, like that, that turn you off sometimes? I thought it was a pointless question. I thought the preachers were just setting up straw men only to knock them down again. After all, the answer to the ...

4315. A Very Different Top 10 List

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I am a big sucker for lists. I love lists. Top 10 Lists. Bottom 10 Lists. David Letterman lists. Any list. In fact, there’s a book written for us list lovers called “The Incredible Book of Wacky Lists” by Patrick M. Reynolds (2001), where he has lists of “Plants That Eat Animals” (there are 4 of them: Venus’s flytrap, Butterwort, Sundew, Pitcher plant), “Seas Named After a Color” (Black, Red, White, Yellow Seas), 3 Tallest US Presidents (Abe Lincoln, 6'4", LBJ, 6'3", Thomas Jefferson, 6'2½”, now 4, with ...

4316. The Revolution Against Evolution

Genesis 1:1

Sermon

James Merritt

It is the ultimate question of all questions - Where did the universe come from? Why does it exist? Genesis 1:1 simply states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1, NASB) So the very beginning of God's word to man says man had a beginning, a divine beginning, a supernatural beginning. Believe it or not, the Christian message does not begin with "Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior." It begins with "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Bible ...

4317. Bring It On

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

The way Rocky faced the Russian is the way every Christian should face temptation; not because we deal with temptation in our strength, but in His strength, that is, in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is true if you believe what Heb. 4:15:16 says about Jesus: "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help ...

4318. What Gift Do You Bring?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

I remember watching a football game between Kansas State and Ohio State. Kansas State was evidently favored to win because they had clobbered Oklahoma just a few weeks earlier, but they were not doing very well. In fact, they were behind by quite a bit and then in the last half they mounted a comeback and midway through the fourth quarter they were doing quite well. They were only behind fourteen points and were deep in Ohio State territory. Then it happened — a senseless, silly, stupid penalty. It was a ...

4319. The Good News about Money

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

There is one good thing about a recession. It sobers us up. If we’re lucky it causes us to turn our back on things we don’t need and to hold close the things that really matter. After all, periods of recession usually follow periods of wretched excess. Martha Bolton and Phil Callaway, in their book It’s Always Darkest Before the Fridge Door Opens, tell about strolling through a mall one day laughing at all the things in the mall they didn’t need. Here are some of the things they found that they could do ...

4320. Choosing to Believe

1 Kings 18:20-39

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Perhaps you recall recently when a burial box from the first century A.D. had come to light, on which was inscribed the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." This revelation caused quite a stir in the world of Christian scholarship because, if authentic, it would be the oldest tangible link to the historical Jesus — evidence of his actual existence. While even many non-Christians agree that Jesus was a real person, no physical evidence from the first century has ever been conclusively tied with ...

4321. Family Matters

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Tom Rietveld tells about a wedding he performed several years ago. There was a very precocious little seven-year-old boy who was the ring bearer. At the wedding rehearsal, the soloist asked Pastor Tom when she should begin singing. He told her, “After the vows.” She wanted a more specific answer, so she asked: “What are the vows? I’ll need a cue.” And at that point, the little boy turned to the soloist with an exasperated look, and said: “The vowels are A-E-I-O-U. There is no Q!” (1) We never know ...

4322. Christmas Eve at Angel School

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters Teacher Angel Lead Shepherd 1st Angel 2nd Angel 3rd Angel 4th Angel 5th Angel Joseph Mary Angel Choir Shepherd Shepherd 1 Shepherd 2 Shepherd 3 1st Child 2nd Child 3rd Child 4th Child 5th Child Props Chairs Blackboard with “Junior Angel Training” written on it Lectern or music stand Christmas tree Christmas tree decorations 4 Bibles Manger, with a baby “Christmas Eve At Angel School” offers a variety of speaking roles for children of all ages, making it a good choice for medium-sized Sunday ...

4323. I Am the Bread of Life

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It is absurd to apologize for mystery. Keep that sentence in your mind now because I will be coming back to it in the sermon today, and may be coming back to again and again in this series of sermons which we begin this morning. It is absurd to apologize for mystery. Now a story. Some of you movies buffs will remember an Italian film of a few years ago entitled Le Dolce Vita. As that movie opens, a helicopter is flying rather slowly and not very high above the earth. Slung from the helicopter is a kind of ...

4324. It's Everybody's Business

John 1:35-51

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Abe and Sara were an elderly Svedish couple. They tried their best to keep up with the times, but truthfully, they were a bit backward. They didn't have very many friends so they didn't get much mail. But one day Sara received a single envelope in the mail. She opened it and found that it was a wedding invitation. She proudly announced that they had been "invited to a vedding" but that there was one thing she didn't understand. She asked, "Vat does it mean ven it says an R.S.V.P. is required?" Abe thought ...

4325. Drink Deep

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I just read about a certain preacher, a recent seminary graduate, who was appointed to his very first congregation. He and his wife went to visit his family one Saturday afternoon for lunch. This preacher's mother sensed that her daughter-in-law was all that happy, but not wanting to be one of those nosey, meddlesome mothers-in-law, she pretended not to notice. She figured it was just a lover's spat. But as her son and daughter-in-law left, everything was cleared up because she overheard her daughter-in- ...

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