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 4914 results

4501. I Wonder Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Romans 8:28-29

Sermon

Charley Reeb

As we remember the terror of 9/11, we long for an answer to it. As we see lives blown apart by natural disasters, our hearts cry out with it. As the economy worsens and banks fail and businesses fold and more and more people lose their jobs, our souls seek satisfaction to this enigma. It is the age-old question that haunts us: “I wonder why bad things happen to good people?” This is a burning question for anyone who has experienced the horrors of life. Churches are flooded with people asking this question ...

4502. The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Ethics and the Law: Matthew’s Gospel has a didactic purpose. Special emphasis is given to the message of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block ...

4503. Warnings and Encouragements

Luke 12:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

Luke 12 may be divided into 11 brief units, all of which provide lessons for the disciples: (1) a warning against hypocrisy (vv. 1–3); (2) a saying concerning whom to fear (vv. 4–7); (3) confessing Jesus (vv. 8–12); (4) the Parable of the Rich Fool (vv. 13–21); (5) sayings on the need to trust God (vv. 22–31); (6) a saying concerning riches (vv. 32–34); (7) an exhortation to watch and wait (vv. 35–40); (8) the Parable of the Faithful Servant (vv. 41–48); (9) a saying on family division (vv. 49–53); (10) a ...

4504. To the Church in Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

In the first chapter, John introduced himself and his composition (1:1–3; 1:9–10) and then greeted his readers who belong to seven different congregations of the Asian church (1:4; 1:11). Chapters 2 and 3 expand upon this introduction in continuation from the preceding commissioning vision (1:12–20). In this way, John’s own perceptions of his audience are conveyed through the authoritative voice of “the First and the Last,” who instructs the seer to write the Lord’s greetings to the angelic representatives ...

4505. A Victory Procession and Instruction for Temple Entry

Psalm 24:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

It is difficult to make sense of what is going on in Psalm 24 without acquaintance with ancient Near Eastern traditions and Israelite ritual worship. Who is involved in the dialogue concerning Yahweh’s entry in verses 7–10? Why is there such interest in his militaristic qualities? And what does this have to do with his establishing the earth on water (an odd conception!) in verses 1–2, and what does any of this have to do with prerequisites for worship that sound so legalistic? The occasion of the psalm is ...

4506. The Davidic Mercies and Deliverance from Foreigners

Psalm 144:1-15

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Davidic Mercies and Deliverance from Foreigners Often when reading the psalms we discover that verses and phrases repeat themselves. We may wonder if anything new is really being said. In such cases, we need to probe not at the parts but at how those parts have been woven into a new whole. Here in Psalm 144 virtually the entirety of verses 1–11 are drawn from formulas found in earlier psalms, especially Psalm 18 (“Praise be to . . . my Rock” in v. 1 = 18:2, 46; v. 1b = 18:34a; v. 2 = 18:2, 47b; v. 3 = ...

4507. Rebellion Against the Lord

Deuteronomy 1:26-46

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

A Grumbling rebellion: 1:24–46 With the return of the spies and the good report of some of them (the bad report of the others is suspended until v. 28), the original command Go up and take possession of the land (v. 21) has been reinforced by the encouragement, it is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us. This makes the people’s next response all the more surprising and shocking: But you were unwilling to go up (v. 26). The rest of the section is presented as an ever intensifying resistance to all ...

4508. Broken Promises

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

That creative writer Father Andrew Greeley tells a story--a parable, really--about two sisters who worked as babysitters in their community. A young couple had recently moved into the neighborhood. They hired the younger of the two sisters to sit with their children. Imagine their surprise when they came home to find their home a complete mess, with their kids looking haggard, and the babysitter half asleep on the couch. The next day, however, the children excitedly told their parents how they had fun with ...

4509. The Three Kings

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

British pastor Geoff Thomas tells about an amusing event that occurred sometime back at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. A gifted preacher, Al Martin was preaching in the main auditorium of the college for a special conference, and the congregation was completely absorbed by what they were hearing. Then toward the end of the sermon, all the lights in the place went out. Now that’s not too unusual. All kinds of things can cause power failures. But you might be interested in what caused this interruption ...

4510. Pop Star Madonna and the Cross

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

During an edition of the ABC network television program, “Good Morning, America,” several years ago when rock star Madonna was really hot, co-host Charles Gibson interviewed a jewelry designer. This woman was marketing a new line of crosses designed by Madonna. The crosses were labeled “The Madonna Cross.” Among the things this designer said in the interview was that “Madonna has brought a new dimension to the cross. Never has wearing the cross been more popular than today.” Gibson challenged that ...

4511. From Fear to Overflowing Joy

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Psychologist Wayne Dyer, author of many self-help books, tells of attending his twenty-year high school reunion. At that reunion he met a former classmate on whom he’d had a secret crush. She was beautiful and confident even in high school, and Dyer could never muster up the courage to ask her out. To his surprise, at the reunion this woman whom he had yearned to date confessed to Dyer that she’d had a secret crush on him all through high school, and she would have been thrilled to go out with him if only ...

4512. United We Stand

John 17:11b-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Today is Mother’s Day, a day when we honor our Moms. We learn many things from our Moms. My mother taught me religion. She used to say things like, “You better pray that comes out of the carpet.” My mother taught me medicine: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way.” My mother taught me how to be a contortionist: “Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!” My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done: “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just ...

4513. Filling the Emptiness Within

John 6:24-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago a news article came across the wires of the Associated Press. It concerned the plight of a Swedish woman who had a rare eating disorder. Because of her disease, she was forced to eat thirty pounds of food a day just to stay alive. The old amounts of food she used to eat couldn’t sustain her physically any more. She would die if she simply ate three normal meals. She always needed more. That’s sad. Some of us probably fantasize about eating a significant amount of food without gaining weight ...

4514. In It for the Long Haul

John 6:60-69

Sermon

King Duncan

Youth speaker Wayne Rice tells a delightful story about the Sydney Swans of the Australian football league. Australian football, of course, is what we usually think of as Rugby. It is the most successful sport in terms of TV viewership in Australia. An exception to the success of the league for many years was the Sydney Swans. Until recently, the Swans had the worst record of any team in the league. They also had the worst attendance. Most of their home games were played in front of empty seats. But a ...

4515. 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 ...

4516. Three Men Changed by God

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-13, Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

CNN carried a dramatic story about a pastor in South Korea who used to be a trained killer. That’s right--I said a trained killer. His name is Kim Shin Jo. We have been reading much the past couple of years about North Korea. This is a state that has caused the world many headaches over the years. Kim Shin Jo was originally a North Korean assassin. In January of 1968, Jo and a team of other assassins slipped into South Korea from the North in a daring attempt to kill the president of South Korea. The team ...

4517. Eyes Set on Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that airlines have crazy rules? And the way they set airfares sometimes defies comprehension. One man tells about wanting to go on vacation. He couldn’t decide whether to go to Salt Lake City or Denver. He wanted to visit Denver, but money was tight so he decided to let the amount of the fare make his decision for him. He called one airline and asked what the fare was to Denver. “Airfare to Denver is $300 per person,” said the reservation agent. Then he asked, “What about Salt Lake ...

4518. Can I Get Some Help Over Here?

John 14:23-29

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

It is not an uncommon scene. A couple of young men found their way into the weight room at the local exercise facility. They were, perhaps, thirteen or fourteen years of age; just beginning to approach manhood; each day the sweetness of self-confidence grows within them. At first they lingered at the edge of the weight room admiring that small group that inhabits every work-out facility. These fellows are usually in their twenties or thirties. Their bodies have been sculpted by thousands of hours of ...

4519. The Road of Life

Illustration

Author Unknown

The following is a poem from Tim Hansel's book "Holy Sweat" which describes how we should ride through life with Jesus in control: At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him. But later on, when I recognized this Higher Power, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a ...

4520. Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

Luke 9:11b-17

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Soul Keeping, John Ortberg tells about riding a mechanical bull at a street fair. The bull operator explained that the bull had twelve levels of difficulty, and that Pastor Ortberg’s best bet for not getting bucked off was to shift his center of gravity to match the bull’s movements. Ortberg climbed up on this mechanical bull and he held on as tight as he could. The bull started to sway and buck, and Ortberg focused on moving his center of gravity with the swaying of the bull. He thought he was ...

4521. If Your Cry for Help Is Loud Enough...

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

In the cartoon strip Ziggy, Ziggy and his dog Fuzz are lost in ski country. Ziggy pulls out a book and says to Fuzz, “We won’t get lost hiking in the woods this time because I brought the cross-country skier trail guide book . . . “Matter of fact, Fuzz, this area here looks none too familiar . . . I better consult the guide. See, there are three methods of finding our way home. First, there’s the ‘coin flip method.’ I think we’ll skip that . . . “Two is the eeny-meeny-miney-mo method! Uh . . . that doesn’t ...

4522. Seeing God

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 Fans of the Green Bay Packers football team are considered some of the most rabidly loyal and enthusiastic fans in any sport. In 2012, the Packers were supposed to play the New York Giants for the NFC Championship. A huge snow storm came through Green Bay and covered the playing field, and game officials considered postponing the game. But Green Bay officials put out a call asking for help to clear the field. They offered to pay folks $10/hour to shovel snow off ...

4523. Reading the Last Chapter First

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that there are certain habits or beliefs that separate people into one camp or another? As soon as certain topics come up, people separate into one camp or the other on that topic. For example, coffee drinkers vs. coffee haters. Cat people vs. dog people. Morning people vs. night people. We could start some serious divisions here if I keep going. But there’s one more habit that divides people into separate camps. It’s the habit of reading a book all the way through to the end vs. ...

4524. Good for What Ails Us

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

Before modern medical science really took off in the last fifty years of the past millennium, there were a lot of home and folk remedies being prescribed by well-meaning individuals, but also by con artists and charlatans. The remedy was often administered accompanied by the phrase that the supposed cure was “good for what ails you.” The classic, all-purpose remedy for nearly every condition was a table-spoonful of castor oil. Perhaps some of you suffered through that treatment or gave it to someone else. ...

4525. Your Wake-up Call

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the small luxuries that used to be available in most hotels was the personal wake-up call. Remember when the hotel clerk would ask you when you checked in, “Would you like a wake-up call?” Most major hotels offered this service. The next morning, right on time, you’d get a call from a real live person who woke you up with the words: “Good morning, (Mr. Jones or Miss Jones) this is your wake-up call.” And then you’d decide whether to go back to sleep or not. That task, like everything else, is now ...

Showing results