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 4351 to 4375 of 4936 results

4351. Taking the Shape of Christ

Galatians 4:8-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The little girl had been giving her mother a hard time all morning. Finally her mother said, “Please behave your self. Don’t you know that every time you misbehave, I get another gray hair in my head?” “My,” the little girl said, “you sure must have been a bad little girl. Just look at all the gray hairs Grandmother has!” That’s a story about how we become the way we are. Apart from the obvious lessons that we parents need to be careful in the way we seek teach our children - we can’t put anything over on ...

4352. Simon

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It’s a common expression. When good fortune comes our way over which we have no control, about which we really did nothing, we say, “I was in the right place at the right time.” We hear it all the time about people who have made a lot of money, without a lot of effort: “He was in the right place at the right time.” We say a similar thing when the unwanted happens to us. “I was in the wrong place at the right time.” Some of us feel that’s the story of our life — being in the wrong place at the right time. ...

4353. So, Explain It to Me

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Trinity Sunday begins the second half of the church year. The first half of the church year beginning with Advent and ending with Pentecost focused on the life of Christ. We call this second half ordinary time but there is nothing ordinary about it. It is an extraordinary time of the year when we focus on the church's life and mission. Some have called Trinity Sunday the "great hinge" of the church year. Others have called it the "great pain"! Why? Because as the only Sunday of the church year that focuses ...

4354. Make a 119 Call

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“God hath not promised Skies ever blue, Flower-strewn pathways All our lives through; God hath not promised Skies without rain, Joy without sorrow, Peace without pain. “But God hath promised Strength for the day, Rest for the labor, Light for the way, Grace for the trials, Help from above, Unfailing sympathy, Undying love.” Annie-Johnson Flint When I went to seminary, we were required to learn “active listening” skills. One required exercise was to interview another student and draw out of them a conflict ...

4355. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Every boy I knew growing up in the Midwest loved this story. We acted it out. We imagined ourselves as David, the shepherd boy, with nothing but a sling and a few smooth stones. Goliath represented for us every neighborhood bully who had ever picked on us. Of course, we only had dime-store slingshots. You know the kind where you pulled back the bungee cord-like launcher with the little patch in the middle and tried to nail your target. The idea that David pegged Goliath with nothing but a leather strap and ...

4356. Not So With You

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of us here this morning were born BC? By “BC” I mean “Before Cell-phones?” The first cell phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper. My kids were born AC, but I was born BC. In a world of 7 billion people, there are now 5 billion cell phone subscriptions. Pretty amazing for something under 40 years old. In the last forty years the cyber-cellular age has changed the way we do business, the way we get our education, the way we socialize. The world has never been so closely connected, and there has ...

4357. Start at the Epicenter

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

Friday night, February 14th, 2014, something happened at our house that I never thought would ever happen and I hope never happens again. Many of you experienced the same thing. It was as if someone with giant hands took our house and began to shake it. I was asleep and Teresa woke me and said, “Did you feel that?” I said, “What?” She said, “I believe we just experienced an earthquake.” I said, “Seriously?” What really got my attention was when she said, “I hope it did not damage the foundation of our ...

4358. Identification and a Wish for Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

1:1 As in all of his letters Paul begins by identifying himself as the sender. In ancient times a letter typically began with the writer’s self-identification, and the opening commonly continued by naming the addressees and wishing them good health. In Paul’s letters, this typical wish is replaced by a wish for grace and peace. In the opening of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, as in most of his other letters, Paul identifies himself as an apostle (cf. Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; and, if ...

4359. A Prayer for the Ephesians

Ephesians 3:14-21

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

Praying for Enlightenment This section follows the same structural pattern that the author established earlier in the epistle. He began with a great hymn of thanksgiving for all of the spiritual blessings that God provided in Christ (1:3–14) and followed this by a prayer for his readers to understand their hope and inheritance in the Lord (1:15–20). In 2:1–3:13, the author provides a lengthy exposition on the believer’s position in Christ (2:1–10), the incorporation of Jews and Gentiles into one body, the ...

4360. The Coming of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Although the formula, “Now about …” (peri de), which sometimes appears to have marked Paul’s answers to questions (see disc. on 4:9) does not occur, 4:13–18 is probably his answer to a question about the fate of deceased believers. From the teaching the missionaries gave while they were still with them, the Thessalonians would have known the general eschatological scenario that Paul unfolds in these verses, but at least some of them were still unsure where the Christian dead fitted into it. They may have ...

4361. Sermon on the Mount: Final Warnings and Call to Obey Jesus’ Words

Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus’ final words in the Sermon on the Mount warn against those who claim to belong to God but are disobeying God’s will. Those who are wise will put Jesus’ authoritative words into practice. Understanding the Text The final section of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on putting into practice Jesus’ teachings and provides warnings about those who do not obey God’s will. Jesus speaks of bearing fruit being the mark of a disciple (7:15–20; see also 12:33–37; 13:18–23; 21:18–22, 43). Bearing fruit ...

4362. New Dominion as a Blessing of the New Covenant: Dead to Sin

Romans 6:1-14

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: In chapter 6 Paul presents another blessing: new dominion. The first Adam forfeited his dominion over the earth. But Christ, the last Adam, inaugurated a new age and new covenant, restoring the lost dominion. Believers enter that new dominion by uniting with Christ’s death and resurrection: they become dead to sin and alive to God. Understanding the Text While Romans 3:21–5:21 developed the theme of justification, Romans 6:1–8:16 is devoted to the topic of sanctification.1On the one hand, ...

4363. Divisions In the Church

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

This first major segment of the body of Paul’s letter forms a coherent reflection on the specific situation in Corinth in relation to and in the light of basic matters of Christian belief. Paul examines and explains the character of the gospel itself, so that the Corinthians are directed to evaluate their situation in the light of the gospel of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ and the implication of God’s work for their lives. Paul argues against understanding the gospel as a kind of mysterious wisdom ...

4364. A Difficult but Joyous Journey

Luke 1:39-55

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Melvin Newland tells about a man in Salt Lake City who decided to send out 600 Christmas cards to total strangers. He got telephone directories from several cities, addressed 600 cards to people he had never met, put his return address on the envelopes and mailed them. Amazingly, he received 117 responses from these total strangers. One lady wrote, “It was so good to hear from you. Your card arrived the day I got home from the hospital, and I can’t tell you what an encouragement it was to hear from ...

4365. The Value of Doubt

John 20:19-31

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Is it not interesting the way a nickname can stick to a person? An uncle of mine, now long deceased, was nicknamed “Fat.” As a small boy he was grossly overweight and cruel neighborhood children hung that moniker on him. “Hey, who is the big kid out on the playground?” “Oh, that’s Fat Casteel.” The puzzling part of the story is that as an adult my uncle was not particularly overweight, yet he retained the nickname. Friends and family always called him Fat. It is curious how a nickname becomes a permanent ...

4366. Can We Really Love Our Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

I am often uncomfortable when someone tells me they love me. I am not talking about an honest affirmation, but about a critic who has just taken my hide off and concludes the shellacking with an account of her godly affection. "Brother Bayer, you are a rotten, no good, pagan, secular-humanist, but I want you to know that because I am Christian and I love you." Thanks just the same, but I'd rather be despised. Occasionally someone that I have a difficult time loving will cross my path. When I'm honest I ...

4367. Holy Goat!

Leviticus 16:1-34, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Hide and seek is everyone’s favorite game as a child. And as an adult. What irony that children play and pretend to hide, then are delighted to be discovered and come out of hiding. But adults hide for real! And for very different reasons! We may not physically hide. But can we emotionally and spiritually hide! And we have no intention of being discovered! For any number of reasons, we adults find it extremely hard to allow anyone to discover the deep reaches and recesses of our souls. We adults find it ...

4368. Fear and Blessing

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

It is Parents' Weekend in the University. But it is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost here in the chapel. In the interest of continuity, we ask our preachers to follow the ecumenical lectionary which assigns certain scripture for each Sunday. I immediately expected a conflict. To my surprise, the assigned Psal1n for today is Psalm 128: Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your ...

4369. Dealing With Difficult People

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

How do you deal with difficult people? By difficult, I mean all categories—the gossips, the bullies, the manipulators, the intimidators, the blamers, the criticizers, the complainers, the whiners, and more. Just fill in the blank. Do you know anyone that fits into one of those categories? I imagine you do. This message is going to help you handle difficult people with biblical wisdom. You might be surprised to know that the early church was filled with difficult people. In fact, much of the content of Paul ...

4370. The Hedge

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Those familiar with “hedge funds” know that the goal to creating this kind of fund is to use high risk methods to realize large capital gains. A pool of investors uses a wide array of “hedging” techniques to reduce portfolio volatility and protect investors from downturns in the market, usually by investing in fixed income assets.High risk tactics create low risk of failure due to low liquidity but can lock up investors’ money for a long period of time. They can’t withdraw their money from the pool until a ...

4371. Deep Depression Or High Hope?

1 Kings 9:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Hope, for many, is as futile as the philosophy in a "Peanuts" comic strip which showed Linus and Charlie Brown leaning on a fence, talking. Linus says, "I guess it's wrong to be worrying about tomorrow, maybe we should think only about today." Charlie Brown interrupts him to say, "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get better!" A lot of people have no hope for today, and are sure that tomorrow will be just as hopeless. Indeed, in our time "hope" has become a bad word. When the ...

4372. A Christian With A Conflict Of Interest

Isaiah 5:1-7

Sermon

James McLemore

This was a Christian family. The husband was a Christian, at least that is what he put on his job application when it asked for religious affiliation. Sex: male Race: African-American Nationality: U.S. Citizen Religion: Christian His mother has been a good churchwoman. He used to attend Sunday school as a little boy, but that was thirty years ago. He had a religious heritage and, after all, that made him Christian by parental relationships. Or did it? He wanted to think of himself as a Christian every day ...

4373. A Birthday Party

Luke 2:1-20

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Object: Birthday party supplies -- hat, noisemaker, etc. Lesson: Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth, yet we get all the presents. (Put on the hat and blow the noisemaker.) We're having a birthday party! What fun! Have you ever had a birthday party? (Children respond.) What kinds of things do you do at a birthday party? (Children respond.) You play games, eat cake and ice cream, run around with your friends, sing "Happy Birthday," and get presents. How would you like to have your very own birthday ...

4374. The Unclean Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

This healing story is the first pronouncement story in Cycle B. The pronouncement formula presents a situation, builds to a climax, offers a solution and gives a statement of the issue. In the early church, this format made for easier recall of the story for oral retelling. While healing on the sabbath is mentioned in this miracle, the main issue is authority. In another Cycle B miracle for Epiphany 7, healing the paralytic (Miracle 4), Jesus observes rumblings and questions among the scribes (Mark 2:6) ...

4375. Passion Sunday

Mk 14:1 - 15:47 · Isa 50:4-9 · Phil 2:5-11 · Ps 31:9-16

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Isaiah 50:4-9a · Philippians 2:5-11 · Mark 14:1--15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47) Roman Catholic: Isaiah 50:4-7 · Philippians 2:6-11 · Mark 14:1--15:47 Episcopal: Isaiah 45:21-25 or Isaiah 52:13--53:12 · Philippians 2:5-11 · Mark (14:32-72) or 15:1-39 (40-47) COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 50:4-9a The third servant song. The Lord gives his servant the task of comforting his beaten people. His efforts meet with rejection and abuse but his faith in Yahweh remains unwavering. Lesson ...

Showing results