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 4501 to 4525 of 4937 results

4501. Ultimate Freedom

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

The battle cry in our society over the past two decades has been freedomfreedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom from discrimination, political freedom, economic freedom, sexual freedom. We want to be free! This is that week in our life as a nation when we celebrate our freedom. For Christians, however, every Sunday morning worship service ought to be a celebration of freedom. Maybe we should replace our Call to Worship with a fireworks display and our organ with a brass band. There is no greater ...

4502. Loved By The Father

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

Dan Jarrell was speaking at a FamilyLife Marriage Conference when a man came up and handed him a letter. The letter told of this man's lifelong desire to hear his father say, "I love you." His father had died in World War II, when this man was only three years old. His mother had often assured him of his father's love as he was growing up, but it didn't fill the void he felt. One day, this man, now 40 years old, was helping his mother move. She gave him an old Army picture of his father. The picture ...

4503. "Head" Lines

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of us pick up the newspaper each morning and scan the headlines before we start reading the morning news? Not every story is of equal interest to everyone. For example, a headline about a tax hike or a bomb scare is more likely to catch my attention than is a headline about school marching bands or knitting clubs. You have your own criteria for judging which stories merit your time. But occasionally, a headline will catch our attention because it seems to have more than one meaning. Sometimes the ...

4504. Love And Submission

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

Bishop Bompas was the first Anglican clergyman to venture among the Indians of the Yukon. There is a somewhat unusual story about his service there. It seems that when he discovered that no member of the tribe had ever been officially baptized or married, he immediately proceeded to do both. After the five-hour baptismal and marriage ceremony was over, he asked the tribal chief which part the people enjoyed most. "Well, Bishop," said the chief, "we liked being baptized, but most of all we loved being ...

4505. Peace or Pieces

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I love the picture which shows two ladies in Las Vegas, running for their lives down a quiet street, being chased by a six foot, 200-pound ostrich, their leisurely morning walk turned now into a desperate chase. The incident is a great picture of how our normal lives can quickly change into one of desperation. The power of "fear" or "faith" is a constant choice we make every day of our lives. Let''s face it, living in an urban area like the Greater Easton area can be frustrating. You fight traffic every ...

4506. The Impossible Option

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

Before there was Harry Potter, there was Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit. In J. R. R. Tolkien's wise fantasy, this short, hairy-footed resident of the Shire in Middle-Earth was a well-to-do bachelor and country squire. Comfortable and conventional, but just a touch bored with life, he nevertheless was shocked when the mysterious wizard, Gandalf, knocked on his door one spring morning and requested his services as (of all things) a thief. The clever, nimble-fingered hobbit was just the person to help a struggling ...

4507. The Gospel Of Another Chance (choir Dedication)

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Football season is going full steam. Emotions are running high, and already folks are making predictions about who is going to make it to the different bowls. Also, there are a lot of stories making the rounds. One is about the sometimes famous coach at the University of Tennessee, Johnny Majors. It seems that Mr. Majors bought a bolt of cloth thinking he would have a suit made out of it. He took the material to his tailor in Knoxville where the tailor measured Majors, examined the bolt of cloth, did some ...

4508. God's Battle Against Sin

Zephaniah 1:1-3

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Can we believe that God is carrying on a war against all sinners? He is, of course, according to the scriptures. Jeremiah gives us pictures of God attacking his sinful people in the form of that mysterious Foe from the North (Jeremiah chapters 4-6). Ezekiel declares that there is a breach in our wall of defense, caused by our sin, and that the role of a true prophet is to go up into that breach and by sacrifice and intercession, turn aside God's attack (Ezekiel 13:5). Earlier in Zephaniah, the prophet ...

4509. Old and New Commandments

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Perhaps some of you have seen Michelangelo's great marble statue of Moses. Or if you have just seen a picture of that statue, you know that it depicts Moses sitting, holding the tablets of the law. And strangely enough, on Moses' head are two tiny horns. That depiction furnishes us with a good lesson in the history of Old Testament manuscripts. The verb "shone" in verse 29 of our text can also be translated as "horned," and that apparently was the rendering that the Exodus manuscript available to ...

4510. Claim the Promise

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The pages of the Old and the New Testament are punctuated with promises – all sorts of promises: God’s offer of life and meaning to us. The New Testament is especially packed with promises – many of those promises from Jesus Himself. Listen to Him: “Because I live you will live also. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am come that…. Come unto me all of you that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest…You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” One of the most fantastic ...

4511. The Power of God

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Rick Brand

The professional observers and media pundits suggest that now Bill Clinton has only his place in history to work toward. He will now be judged against the giants of the past, Lincoln, Truman, Wilson. That is one of the ways that history works. We judge the current events by the standards set in the past. Current NBA stars are now being set against the stars from the last fifty years. Madonna versus Marilyn Monroe. John Updike compared to Nathaniel Hawthorne. And when you compare the preaching and praying ...

4512. Epiphany 6

Matthew 5:17-37, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; 3:1-23, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 119

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (C) Moses gives his people a choice of life and death. The scene is Moab where the Israelites have assembled prior to crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land. Our pericope is the conclusion to Moses' third address to his people in which he exhorts them to renew the Sinai covenant and warns them of disastrous consequences of their disobedience. The people are called upon to make a life or death decision. "This day" occurs three times to accent the urgency of the ...

4513. Proper 24

Matthew 22:15-22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Isaiah 44:24--45:25, Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Exodus 33:12-23 (C) Moses seeks the favor and sight of Yahweh. Yahweh is still angry over the golden calf. True to Yahweh's promise, Moses is to lead the people to the Promised Land, but Yahweh says he will not go with them lest his wrathful presence destroy them. To overcome the wrath, the people take off their ornaments to express their repentance and to appease Yahweh. In the meeting Moses pleads with Yahweh to go with them. Since his presence is what makes Israel distinct from all ...

4514. The Truth about Trouble

2 Timothy 4:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to confess that I am a Tarzan movie buff. I love all of the old Tarzan movies, especially the ones with Johnny Weismuller. Even though I have seen every alligator he has ever killed, every elephant he has ever called, and every vine he has ever swung from, I never get tired of watching his movies. I guess that's why this story is both so funny and so meaningful to me. It seems as if Tarzan was not himself, and Jane was very worried. It was apparent that Tarzan was developing a problem, a very ...

4515. I Believe in Easter

Acts 9:1-29

Sermon

James Merritt

On April 9, 1996, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia delivered an address to the Mississippi College School of Law. What he said generated a firestorm of criticism in the liberal press. He gave a brilliant and blistering portrayal of a society that now mocks religious belief, and especially the beliefs of Christians. Here is what he said that was so "controversial." The worldly wise do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is really quite absurd [to them]. So everything from the Easter morning ...

4516. A Bridge over Troubled Waters

Psalm 23:2

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anyone here today dealing with stress? Just looking out, I see a lot of people who are all stressed up and no place to go. Stress is a problem. Believe it or not, this is a problem for the pastor. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, psychologist Richard Blackmon said, “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” About 75% of pastors go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting the ministry; 35-40% actually do. Incidents of mental breakdown are ...

4517. Beware: Hypocrites on Premises

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

David T. Ball

Whenever I happen to be in a conversation with someone about why they don't go to church, it seems like the reason that they almost always give is that they can't stand all the hypocrites. I don't take this personally -- they aren't saying that all churchgoers are hypocrites -- just that there are usually too many hypocrites for their liking. I guess their reaction is understandable. Who would want to go to a church filled with people who don't practice what they preach? That would, at the very least, be ...

4518. Decoding the Da Vinci Code (Part Two - Explaining the Facts)

1 Peter 3:15

Sermon

James Merritt

There is a true, but old story about a pastor who went to see a play one time that featured a very famous British actor and the theater was just packed. He noticed that a lot of the people there were members of his church who hardly ever attended church. He happened to meet with this actor the next day and he asked him this question, "How do you draw such large crowds by presenting fiction while I present facts and hardly anyone comes to here me?" The actor, who had been at this man's church before, said " ...

4519. The Climb

Joshua 14:6-15

Sermon

James Merritt

A Ph.D. - a Doctor of Philosophy degree is the highest degree awarded in academics. Three to four years of seminars, literacy required in three to five different languages, and three years of continuous research on a dissertation that must be totally original in its subject, meaning that no one has ever written on it before. This dissertation must then be presented in written form and passed by three professors with three different fields of expertise all of which you must study and include in your ...

4520. The Boy Grows Up

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Each of us faces the choice of who and what we will become. Sometimes, we don't really know what we want to be when we grow up until we are forty-something. Our earliest models for making that choice are the people who raise and nurture us. Although we identify with the adults whom we admire most, each of us is unique and intended to become "our own person." Occasionally there is a family-owned business and we are expected to carry on in that tradition, or to choose the vocation of one of our parents. ...

4521. “Unto Us A Child Is Born... Next, On Omar”

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters (in order of appearance) Jacob Omar Looseandfree Applause Child (nonspeaking) Shepherd 1 Shepherd 2 Shepherd 3 Lead Angel 2nd Angel Angel Choir Audience Member 1 Wise Man 1 Wise Man 2 Wise Man 3 Servant (nonspeaking) Mary Joseph Audience Member 2 Audience Member 3 Stage Manager Stagehands (nonspeaking) Props Four chairs Handheld microphones (real or fake) Sign with “Applause” written on it Bells Three pillows Baby doll Notes Another one of our “intentional anachronism plays,” “Unto Us A Child Is ...

4522. Living In The Spirit Of Love

Galatians 5:22-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." "When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get ...

4523. There Is a Price for Everything, Part 2

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old adage which has God saying: “Take what you wish - take it and pay for it.” That puts us immediately into the heart of our theme today: There is a Price For Everything. There is truth in that saying that the best things in life are free but we have to be careful about that. It isn’t absolute truth. Certainly we can’t buy love, but isn’t there really a price tag on love? How can we appropriate the love of a husband or a wife without paying the price of attention and tenderness, caring and the ...

4524. The Forgiveness Which Oils the Human Machine

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A Gallop poll asked Americans what they try to do when wronged. Forty-eight percent said they try to forgive. Eight percent said they try to get even. In our minds, at least, forgiveness wins over revenge six to one. Forgiveness, what a great idea. Forgiveness is the oil that lubricates the human machine. Without it, all of life becomes hot and screaky. Lewis Smedes says, “God invented forgiveness as a remedy to the past that even He could not change.” Jesus said when you pray learn to say, “Forgive us our ...

4525. Holy Waste

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a man who bought his fiancée a diamond ring, and showed it to his friend. His friend asked, “Is it a real diamond?’ He said, “If it isn’t, I’m out five bucks.” Then there was the fellow who wanted to buy his sweetheart some perfume. He went to the counter of an exclusive store, and the saleswoman recommended a perfume called “Perhaps” that sold for $100 an ounce. $100!” cried the young fellow. “For $100, I don’t want “Perhaps”, I want “For Sure!” Behind the hint of humor is the suggestion that if ...

Showing results