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 4526 to 4550 of 4964 results

4526. A New Name

Isaiah 62:1-5

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... for mankind, which we do not deserve, which we cannot earn, and which we will never be able to repay. Awash in our sinfulness, helpless to change on our own, polluted to the core with no possibility of cleaning ourselves up, we cry out for grace. It is our only hope.[5] The word "righteous" means "to be right and to be right is to be fair, just, or straight." Since God is righteous, he will deal with each of us in a just manner. Since we are hopelessly lost, we need a redeemer. His name is Jesus who took ...

4527. The Radiant Life

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... we are now on a journey home! "... a home we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive." The writer comments that all of this, "... means in all adversity our worship of God is joyful, our life is hopeful, our future is secure. There is nothing we can lose on earth that can rob us of the treasures God has given us and will give us." - The Anglican Digest[1] We who have a relationship with God - a covenant with him - understand that God will dwell with us ...

4528. Not Another Rerun!

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... They were tasting the bitter fruit of poor choices made by earlier generations, and it just didn't seem to be fair! Something obviously needed to change. Chapters 30 and 31 in the book of Jeremiah (often given the title of "the book of consolation") address that hope for change in the form of the promise of a new covenant between God and his people. Before the message moves directly to talk of the new covenant, there is a mini-rerun of or, perhaps, more correctly speaking, a flashback to Jeremiah's call ...

4529. Earth, Wind, and Fire

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... and terrible day of the Lord" (v. 31), a day of "fire and columns of smoke" (v. 30) as well. Only with the removal of their shame by God's promise of continuing presence could the people begin to face the future with hope. It is the same for us. We are included in the message of hope, because the Spirit will be poured out on "all flesh." And in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ we know that our shame has been dealt with once and for all. Jesus took our shame upon himself and it was ...

4530. Help From Habakkuk?

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... to be falling apart at the seams. God, the Father, has given us more than what we need to cope with this world through the life, death, and resurrection of the Son and his continuing presence with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our hope is secure because death, violence, oppression, and injustice do not have the final word in our lives or in the world. Therefore, as the psalmist says, we can commit our way to the Lord, trusting that God will act (Psalm 37:). And as HaBAKkuk (or HAbaKKUK) reminds ...

4531. A New Beginning

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... bit of self-editing will not do the job. God does not even wait for us to come to our senses and ask for help, but "before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear" (v. 24). God takes full initiative. That is our only hope. Only God's initiative could redeem the mess God's people had made of their history and its effects on their present and future. God still takes full initiative. Only he can type over the mess we have made of our lives through disobedience and give us a fresh start ...

4532. The Glow of a Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... is epiphany. When we have an epiphany, we discover something new, something exciting. As we begin this New Year in worship we hope to have some Aha! experiences regarding our understanding of God. Impossible, you say? You believe you already know as much about ... day a little fleck of paint fell off the window, and in the darkness Aleksandr saw a tiny ray of sunlight shine its beam of hope in to his dark cell. This light is what gave him strength to continue on, the light to know that he was still alive and ...

4533. The Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... , the symbolism of the dove is profound. Remember, this was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Messiah who so many hoped would be a warrior‑king. Yet the Holy Spirit, which is characterized as a mighty wind or tongues of flame in other parts of ... olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth (Genesis 8:11). The dove, then, was a symbol of hope and salvation. So, from the beginning Jesus gave every indication that he was a different kind of Messiah. He came not as conqueror ...

4534. The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” Nehemiah had a positive attitude, a powerful purpose, and the presence of the living God within. He had the joy of the Lord in his soul. That was his great strength. Do you have that joy? If not I hope you will claim it today. 1. Hope For The Troubled Heart (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991), p. 106. 2. http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11642680/page-3/. 3. Whole Earth Review, Sausilito, California, 1989. Jill Oglesby Evans, http://www.emorypresbyterian.org/sermons/Acts1v1-8_CanYouImagine.pdf. 4. Richard ...

4535. When We're Estranged from God

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Children sing the little nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, Couldn’t put Humpty together again.” And it is true of our lives. We are broken people and the only hope we have of being put back together again is for God to touch our lives. We can’t put ourselves back together again, but God can. There was a young man in Wisconsin named John. John was kind of scary. He was in his early twenties and was very ...

4536. When We Feel Lost

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... to ignore those of us who have always played by the rulebook. It is hard for us to accept that Jesus sees more hope in the much-deserved humility of the prodigal than the self-righteous indignation of his brother. And yet it is important that we ... teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” The story of the prodigal is intended to give hope to the tax collectors and the sinners. But it is a devastating judgment on the attitudes and actions of the scribes and Pharisees ...

4537. Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in office, Sandy Hook massacre was the fourth mass murder scene that President Obama visited in his four year term in office to offer comfort and solace to the scarred and the scared. Yet out of these ashes of anguish there is new hope. In 1999 the US was sucker punched by the violence of the Columbine school massacre. But in the aftermath of that horror Darrel Scott, father of murdered student Rachel Scott, established “Rachael’s Challenge,” a foundation devoted to “motivate, educate, and bring ...

4538. Face to Face

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to understand “the Lord is the Spirit” as a reference to Christ. It is the Spirit, the presence of the living Christ in the world, that now offers what the old covenant never could — “freedom.” This freedom is what enables Paul to preach with “hope and great boldness” (v.12). It is in this new state of holy boldness that those with faith in Christ may stand “unveiled” and view “the glory of the Lord” (v.8). This is Paul’s second “transfiguration” within this week’s text. “All ...

4539. Collections or Connections?

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ] know that I sincerely care about him, and I am praying for his redirection and rehabilitation," she said. "A good life awaits him, if he will just choose a new path. God bless." Packard then asked the judge if she could give the young man two stones. One said "Hope," the other said, "A special prayer for you." The young man took the stones, and began to sob. "The hurt, I never thought of that," said the teen. "I'm really sorry. I regret this decision. I'm sorry for all of the hurt that I caused you." "I ...

4540. Revelation 22:12-14; 16-17; 20-21

Revelation 22:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... John’s vision, a vision of the coming trials and tribulations that the faithful will face, the rising of the morning star means hope and final deliverance from a dark night. Just as the stars shine down upon the whole world, so the appearance of Jesus, ... John’s vision, a vision of the coming trials and tribulations that the faithful will face, the rising of the morning star means hope and final deliverance from a dark night. Just as the stars shine down upon the whole world, so the appearance of Jesus, ...

4541. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... , singing aloud is one of those positive actions that can increase a feeling of well-being. So, when you are in prison, when you’re depressed, when it seems everything you try is a failure, when you are about to lose hope, force yourself to break out in a song, especially a song of hope and joy. See if it doesn’t make you feel better. I doubt that this is why Paul and Silas were singing. They were such people of faith that their songs were probably a statement of their confidence in God. However ...

4542. Lean on the Cloud

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Trust in Jesus," but how many of us actually let our weight down? How many sing and mean "Take My Life and Let It Be . . ?” Or how many sing and mean “Take My Life and LET ME BE?” Theologian Rubem Alves put the difference between faith and hope like this: “Hope is hearing the melody of the future; faith is dancing to that melody here and now.” Will you dance to the future this morning? Will you let your weight down? Will you live by faith and not by sight? Will you trust God with all you are? Will ...

4543. The Gift that Matters

Hebrews 2:5-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... 1] The author of the book of Hebrews gives us a different perspective on Jesus’ life. Hebrews was addressed to people who had gone through a tough time, a time of suffering, persecution, imprisonment, and confiscation of property. The author wrote hoping to instill a fresh sense of hope, desiring people to turn to Jesus. We discover that the author claims that Jesus is the pioneer of our salvation. A pioneer goes ahead to clear a path for others to follow. There is a sense of adventure associated with the ...

4544. Grow Up!

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... in our lives and in the life of our church when we surrender our will to God’s. “For we are God’s servants, working together,” we work together to the glory of God and not to receive human recognition or applause. This was what Paul hoped his friends in Corinth would soon understand. It was time for the Corinthians to grow up! The church, just like the field in Paul’s metaphor, belongs to God. Individual leaders who come and go are insignificant; they are simply field hands. The church belongs to ...

4545. A One Sentence Legacy

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... life. We are so busy with so many things in our lives, we may not even think about the things that really matter. I want to ask you two questions that all of us must answer at sometime or another. Let’s begin here: what kind of legacy do you hope to leave to those you love and to the world? One of these days you will be leaving this earth. How will people remember you? In what ways will the world be a better place because you’ve been here? Stephen Covey in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People ...

4546. When God Does Something New

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Argile Smith

... the people to embrace freedom instead of totalitarianism. Pastor Fuhrer had been influenced as a child by the example set by Jesus. He noticed that Jesus cared for the powerless, the outsiders, and the neglected. As a pastor, he started the prayer meetings with the hope that his church would reflect the care of Christ for the disenfranchised. He dreamed that it could be a place in which the people in Leipzig could talk about and pray for peace. Little did he know when he started the prayer meetings that ...

4547. The Lamb

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Argile Smith

... Day. It’s the name of a martyr who died for his faith a long time ago. Polycarp happened to be a remarkable man who laid down his life as a testimony of his devotion to Christ. Hopefully the name will live a little longer in our memories because we spent some time retelling Polycarp’s story. We hope that retelling his story will give us fresh inspiration to worship the Lord whose love for us compelled many believers down through the centuries to face death because of their love for him. Polycarp died in ...

4548. The Door of the Cross

John 10:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

... , When the plunging hoofs were gone. [3] Jesus’ voice drifts through the door of the cross speaking our name. We don’t have to fear him or fear when he comes and knocks at our door and summons us. He’ll calm us with faith and strengthen us with hope. He’ll lead us in love to true life here in the vast courtyard of God’s creation. Eternal, abundant life starts here, trusting God and serving God joyfully as did our Lord Jesus whose entire life is pictured for us upon the open door of the cross. 1 ...

4549. A Faith that Will Transform You

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” What a beautiful statement of hope for those who are broken of heart and of spirit. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” It makes no difference if your home is a mansion or a rescue mission if your skin is black, brown, yellow or white. It doesn’t even matter ...

4550. A Faith that Will Bring You Alive

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... and wives. We even say in our vows, “Till death do us part.” That might be a relief to somebody in the room. I hope not, but it’s possible. There was a survey sometime back that said that, if they had it to do over again, 70% of men ... saying that though he was dead, he expected to ‘get up’ on the day of the resurrection.” (4) I have that expectation, too, and I hope that you do as well. It is Jesus’ most important teaching a teaching he conveyed by his lips and his life. Life beyond the grave ...

Showing results