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 426 to 450 of 4914 results

426. Good News / Bad News

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. Luke 12:51 Sports writers still talk about the joy they used to take in interviewing the great New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Yogi was something of a rough-hewn philosopher given to malaprops and seemingly contradictory statements that managed to, somehow, still make a weird kind of sense. It was Yogi who said: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” When giving his opinion of a New York ...

427. Living In The Nonsense Of The Resurrection

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

Did you hear that? Did you hear what was just read -- the account of Jesus' resurrection? Did you hear the reaction of those closest to Jesus? Luke 24:11 -- Listen again: "But these words seemed to them (the apostles) an idle tale, and they did not believe them." Isn't that a fascinating verse to include in the account of the resurrection? Here we are, come to celebrate the greatest event in the history of the world. Here we are, come together to rehear the greatest story ever told -- that death has been ...

428. The Healing Power Of Faith

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Harold H. Lentz

The woman with the issue of blood had faith that by contact with Christ she could be cured. All around us in daily life are examples of people who, by faith, are overcoming life's difficulties. A telephone linesman was up a pole when the pole, which was held in place only by cables, fell over him and he was dashed to the ground. His insides were badly crushed and as he was rushed to the hospital; there was little hope that he could survive. A pastor learned of the accident when the man's wife called from ...

429. God's Self-Revelation Through His Spirit

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: God gives us his Spirit that enables us to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. People: We look to Jesus, and the more we turn to him, the more we become like him. Pastor: It is only through our Lord that we are able to know God and respond to his love. People: We are anxious to learn more of Jesus, that our hearts and minds may be opened to the love of God. Collect Gracious God, our heavenly Father, whose Spirit reveals to us the nature of your Son: Draw us close to Christ, that in ...

430. Service for Death through Miscarriage

Psalm 23:1-6

Eulogy

Stan Richards

Service for a miscarried child. May the grace and peace of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, be with us all. We gather here, in face of the preciousness of life and of the mystery of death. _________ and ________ with the death of _________, something has changed irrevocably: anticipation has been thwarted, hope has been dashed, and possibility has been ended. ________ and ________, for you too, anticipation ofhaving a baby brother has ended. In all of this we are reminded of the frailty of life, and ...

431. See the Resemblance

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Larry Powell

In all prrobablity, you know of some young boy who bears such a striking resemblance to his father that a person would know immediately, even in a crowd, that they were father and son. The father can be seen in the son. The Bible tells us that "God was Christ!" In what ways did the Son resemble the Father? a. In his life. Jesus affirmed and celebrated life. His was not the attitude that this world and all that is in it are despicably evil ... that the object is to totally reject life with an eye always on ...

432. Strength Through Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

When Benjamin Franklin was the ambassador to France for the newly-independent United States of America, his quick wit and well-thought wisdom opened many doors for him and his new country. At one dinner in 1781 where the guest list included the powers of that day, the French foreign secretary began the dinner with a toast to King Louis, "To His Majesty, King Louis, the Sun, whose shining presence radiates the earth of France." To which the British ambassador rose with the toast, "To King George the Third, ...

433. Set Free Through Forgiveness!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Just a few years back, a man in Hardeeville, South Carolina went down to the Jasper County Courthouse. There he filed a deed restriction. The restriction barred the sale of any part of his 1,688 acre plantation to anyone north of the Mason-Dixon Line and anyone named Sherman. It seems that more than a century before, General William T. Sherman's troops burned every building on this man's property and Mr. Ingram vowed never to let his plantation fall into Yankee hands again. (1) Now there's a man who knows ...

434. The Power Of A Focused Life

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: magnifying glass and tennis ball (or some common object) Good morning, boys and girls, Have you ever used a magnifying glass? Magnifying glasses are fun because they make any object we look at appear bigger and closer than it really is. If I look at this tennis ball with just my eyes, it looks pretty normal. It is green and smooth and round. But if I look at this tennis ball through a magnifying glass, it looks hairy and it's got a lot of little streaks and marks on it. I can see it better and more ...

435. The Destructive Power of Dis-Unity

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

As we continue in our study of the Philippian letter, we see that Paul addresses the age old problem of fussing and fighting among God''s covenant people. This is one of the reasons I know Paul is writing to a real church, not a mythological one. Paul begins verse 2 trying to persuade and coax two sisters in Christ Jesus from acting up in the church family. It seems that Euodia and Syntyche were having a terrible time of agreeing on anything, except that the other was wrong. From the various scholars and ...

436. Giving Whole-heartedly

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

Servants realize that what they have really isn't theirs but is a gift from someone else and they are simply holding it in trust. Someone who understood that completely was a woman who died in 1999 at the age of 91, Osceola McCarty. She probably won't be remembered by very many people of power, position or substance but she will be remembered by the ongoing impact she continues to make on the lives of students at the University of Southern Mississippi. Had it not been for her selfless gift, probably none ...

437. Choosing

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Argile Smith

Do you remember the generation gap that existed between you and your parents when you were a teenager? Do you sense the same kind of gap widening between you and your children? When we consider the story of Joshua in his old age calling on Israel to serve the Lord, we have to factor in the reality of a generation gap. It presents a challenge for people of different generations when they try to communicate with each other. Parents who grew up in the seventies and eighties regularly have difficulty talking ...

438. Thanksgivings to Remember

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Argile Smith

Joan sat on the sofa reflecting on the Thanksgiving Day holiday that she and her children had enjoyed together. Her children and their spouses seemed to enjoy the meal she had prepared, and she couldn’t have been happier in the kitchen with them stirring around in the living room and helping out in the kitchen. Most of all, she delighted in having all of her family at home and at her dinner table one more time. Even though her grandchildren seemed to be a little fidgety at times, she was grateful they sat ...

439. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The gospel reading for this week is the parable about two very different men, a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to pray at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a familiar story. In fact, it is so familiar that some of the surprising edge has worn smooth with the retelling. To grasp its meaning more fully, we need to listen again with fresh ears and open hearts. A little background information might be helpful. In the first century, tax collectors were considered the dregs of society. Taxation in the far- ...

440. "Gotcha" Questions from Mean-Spirited People

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

It is that fateful final week of the earthly ministry of Jesus. On Sunday the people of Jerusalem welcome the Lord and his entourage with a parade. A crowd lines the main street. They cheer and spread their cloaks on the dusty road. Jesus rides a borrowed donkey. He comes down the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, through an ancient gate, and into the city. The crowd chants as he rides passed, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven ...

441. The Challenge to Forgive

Luke 7:36--8:3

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little. — Luke 7:47 It is a dramatic scene out of America's mythical past — a Western scene of cowboys, saloons, and gunslingers; a scene of wide-open spaces conquered by fierce individualists, liquor, and true grit. It is a scene, however, a little different from the cowboy heroes of my childhood, the scenes of the good guy, white hat heroes like Roy Rogers and Gene Au-try, not even to ...

442. The Power of Appreciation

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I heard a story about twin boys who were polar opposites. One was the eternal pessimist. He saw the negative in everything. The glass was always half empty. The other one was the eternal optimist. He always saw the sunny side to things. He always saw the glass half full. The twins’ parents were curious about this so they took their twin boys to a therapist. The therapist was also curious about how different they were so he put the pessimist in a room full of toys and observed him. The boy picked up a plane ...

443. What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Tom Garrison

Each year, there is a Senior Recognition Sunday for our high school and college graduates. We do this because graduation is a significant milestone for all of us — not just for the graduates themselves, but also for their families and friends and all those who have contributed in some way to the educational processes of our community. The event of graduation can be described in many ways. For one thing, it is a proud time, for it represents the completion of a long and arduous process. No matter how one ...

444. Stopping the Spread of Hell

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

A month ago I had a conversation with a clerk in a store on Main Street. She told me she had had an argument with a pastor years ago and got so angry she never went back to church. She said, "Don't you think I can be just as good a Christian communing with God in the beauty of my backyard as I can be if I were going to church?" I took a deep breath and said, "No. I don't. I'm not at all sure that we can be God's people without putting ourselves in the midst of God's people. I need those other people to ...

445. To Drown Hell and Burn Heaven

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

My dad was a good storyteller. He grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota in the days when there were no movie theaters or other kinds of entertainment, so my dad and his friends made their own fun. Judging by his stories, their entertainment involved a lot of pranks. Their imaginations really went wild at Halloween. Some of his stories I can't tell in public, but here's one I can tell. One Halloween night, my father and his friends snuck over to Uncle Ludwig's farm. They proceeded to systematically take ...

446. Talented People

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

David G. Rogne

In 27 BC, Augustus Caesar became the ruler of the Roman empire. Petty kings came from near and far to plead for reappointment to their kingdoms. Among them was Herod, king of the Jews. He had to leave his kingdom temporarily in the hands of others while he sought continuance of his rule. Those to whom he entrusted the kingdom were responsible to Herod for how they administered the kingdom in his absence. If they did poorly and he was returned to power, they stood to suffer. If they served him well but ...

447. Who Do You Think He Is?

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

A number of years ago a priest, who happened to be a woman, moved to a more conservative diocese after her husband, who also was a priest, died. I knew Mary (not her real name). She was a wonderful priest, loved by her congregation. We were all sad to see her leave our area. After she got settled she scheduled an appointment with the local bishop. After a little polite chitchat she began the conversation by telling him when she had been ordained, who ordained her, where she had served as a priest, and what ...

448. A Cross-Shaped Life

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

April Yamasaki

To share about her ministry in Japan, one mission worker often wears a kimono -- a beautiful floor-length robe with wide sleeves that's tied at the waist with a sash called an "obi." Her outfit is both an example of Japanese culture and an object lesson that she uses to explain Colossians 3:14: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." In the Japanese Bible she says, this verse is translated as "put on the 'obi' of love, which ties everything together in ...

449. Words Are Not Enough

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Roy Howard

It may be helpful when considering this text to remind ourselves that each of the gospel writers had a purpose in mind when writing the good news. They all shared a common purpose in telling the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, but each had a particular community to which they were writing, and they shaped their gospel in ways peculiar to their listeners. That means we have to discern what the original intent of Matthew or Mark, Luke, or John, may have been and what that intent looks like ...

450. Do You See Lazarus On Your Doorstep?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Whenever I think of a rich man I think of Howard Hughes. He was not only extremely wealthy but also extremely eccentric. Hughes once bought a Las Vegas television station for little less than four million dollars simply because he wanted to watch cowboy movies all night, and this station had cowboy movies but not playing all night. Hughes wanted to watch them up until 6 a.m. That is what you do if you are an eccentric millionaire.[1] Hughes has helped me to understand the rich man in Jesus’ parable. The ...

Showing results