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 4977 results

4526. Here's Mud In Your Eye

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... v. 9). The change brought about by the touch of the Lord Jesus is so powerful and dramatic that his neighbors find it difficult to believe he is the same person. Concluding it could not possibly be the former beggar, some say, "It is someone like him." The man keeps saying, "I am the man" (v. 9). Is this your life? Are you holding tight to doubt's old wooden crutch? I am persuaded that most of us get out of our relationship with Jesus just about what we expect. Jesus tells us, "According to your faith let ...

4527. Son of a Daddy

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... are all guilty of some crime against God, some sin that separated us from our maker. While we may not know what life looks like from the wrong side of a prison cell, the fact is that we are, many of us, still prisoners, trapped by whatever it is that keeps us from absolute surrender to Jesus. Like Barabbas, we may hide but we will not get out of this world alive. Listen to me, son or daughter of a father, my only hope and your only hope, the only hope of any Barabbas is to realize that another, the sinless ...

4528. The Time Is Now!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... who lets emotion run ahead of intellect. We want our medical doctors to be able to confront the most remarkable experiences and stay calm; to analyze, decide the best course of action, and prescribe whatever it takes to get the patient well again. Above all else, "Keep calm and carry on." That is, do not let the moment possess you. Yet there was one moment in the life of Jesus that so impressed Luke that he could not stay calm. He had to tell it. In fact, it so impressed the physician-follower that ...

4529. Come and See

John 1:29-42

Sermon

James L. Killen

... from that little story. First, you can't learn much about Jesus by following him at a distance. We are prone to keep our distance and try to do a complete investigation before we get involved in anything. Sometimes that is the right thing to do ... rabbi who beckoned and said, "Come and see." How can we do that? By reading the New Testament. Start with the book of Matthew and keep reading. It is amazing how many professing Christians have never done that. It is as if we are afraid to pick up the book, afraid ...

4530. Something Different

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

... these days because we have forsaken purity, things like self-respect and family relationships. Happy are those who have learned to keep it clean. When the dirty thought or the ugly possibility presents itself, don't go there. You have the power to ... , freedom from many of the things that would mess up our lives if we would let them. There is a new quality of life that will keep opening up new vistas of beauty and goodness for us. Jesus said this life is like a precious pearl whose value is so great that when ...

4531. One Heaven of a Party

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... his inherited possessions and became obsessed with hoarding them. At the end of the man’s life, Jesus asked the inevitable question, “The things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20). This pointed question reminded the greedy man that it was useless to keep all of his possessions, for he could never take them with him. C. S. Lewis wrote of waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. At the time, he was a bachelor and a college student and remembered how ...

4532. The Life You've Always Wanted

Acts 5:27-32

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... to do what Simon, Andrew, James, and John did: Change priorities! We have to come to the moment of truth where we confront those sins which keep us from living for God and depart from our old life. We have to look deeply within ourselves and be honest about what we love more than ... t get removed, people go unloved, the gospel does not get proclaimed, and lives are not changed. They hymn writer was not keeping this in mind when he wrote: Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till the storm of life is past; Safe into the ...

4533. In the Event of Power Failure

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... all, and there is no such thing as forced love. Therefore, because Christ does not force his power on us, it often lies dormant under a thick, dark cloud of low expectations. The mundane mess of a mediocre life has allowed cobwebs to develop over our souls, keeping the lifeless air in and the refreshingly powerful breath of Christ’s Spirit out. This is why we should treat Jesus’ promise of power as a clarion call for a divine explosion in our lives and pray this prayer: I have tried to open the door but ...

4534. Elephants in the Room: Abuse – I Have a Secret

Matthew 11:28

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... same thing that has been happening to me in my marriage for the last 15 years—my husband beats me. I have been so afraid to tell anyone because of what he would do to me, but I just cannot take it anymore.” She was rare. Most battered spouses keep it a secret. #3: Occasionally, his parents would bring him to Sunday School. He was very quiet. Kept to himself. To get him to participate teachers would often ask him easy questions. But he always had the same answer, “I don’t know.” One day one of his ...

4535. Elephants in the Room: Sexploitation

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... emotional, spiritual and sexual well being, and your inner peace. If any of these things matter to you, I ask you to keep listening. Sex is a beautiful gift from God, but it is unhealthy and often destructive when it doesn’t have boundaries. Sex ... lives inside us. We are to glorify God with our bodies. So maybe you are thinking, “Okay, I get it. But how am I to keep from having lustful thoughts? I can’t turn off my brain!” Well, Martin Luther gave the best advice about this. He said, “You can’t ...

4536. The Wind

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... older, there seems to be less to get excited about. When your birthday comes you are reminded how old you are. People keep saying ‘Happy Birthday’ to you but there’s really nothing happy about it.” I thought about the conversation with that man ... Because it’s much easier running the church on our own, without being bothered by the Spirit, isn’t it? A church can survive while keeping the Spirit at bay. It just needs to be organized, be nice, be civilized, and be careful. All it has to do is find a ...

4537. The Power of Patience

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... waiting patiently and Christ would be born. Simeon was faithful. He never lost faith in God. He waited with trust. The day finally came. Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the temple and Simeon took him in his arms and gave thanks to God for keeping his promise. Christ was born! The light had come and the darkness would never overcome it. When Joseph brought his child into the temple I am sure he resonated with Simeon’s relief and gratitude to God. He, like Simeon, understood what it felt like to seek ...

4538. Clean and Unclean

Matthew 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... by the religionists from Jerusalem was more an accusation than an honest request for information. Why do your disciples keep breaking (parabainousin is present tense and suggests repeated action) the tradition of the elders? Specifically, why do they ... answer their question, Jesus, in rabbinic fashion, counters with another question. Why, in fact, do you yourselves (emphatic in Greek) keep on breaking (continuous present) God’s commandment in the interest of your own tradition? Now for the example. God said ...

4539. The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... disciples from approaching (Green, p. 205). The failure of the foolish to prepare for the bridegroom’s arrival led to their total exclusion from the marriage festivities. The conclusion that Jesus draws is, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. In context, keep watch means to be thoroughly prepared and ready for the Parousia. The remaining verses in the chapter suggest that readiness involves using the opportunities provided and responding to the needs of the disadvantaged ...

4540. Death, Risk, and Confidence

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... emotionally: "Young man, don't you ever do again what you did this afternoon. We are doing our best to cheer Daddy up and to keep his spirits high. Things are bad enough as they are without all this morbid talk about dying. I don't want that word ever used ... do something when we get to the place we cannot. This is a discovery you can never make if you forever hug the shore and keep one foot on the bottom, obsessed with creating your own security. This is the way of trying to save life that ends up losing it ...

4541. Gratitude and Coping

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... and in that sense is a gift to be received and unwrapped. It is amazing how differently things begin to look when gratitude becomes the basic stance. A stance of gratitude also opens our eyes to the resources that do exist in the midst of our problems and keeps us from ever saying, "There is nothing here that can be used." No matter how deep the crisis, God has not left any situation without its "five loaves and two fish," and gratitude is the way to have our eyes opened to what is already present. Such ...

4542. A Love Triangle

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... of the ways we do this, he said, is with the heart. However, many of us who are sincere seekers after God are afraid to seek with the whole heart. We've met people who gave their hearts to Jesus, and the prospect frightens us. We want to keep cool, we want to keep our emotions in check, and we don't want to do something in the heat of emotion. As a consequence, we do such a good job of holding our hearts in check that we don't commit ourselves to anything, and we are poorer for it. I know ...

4543. Mary: The Handmaiden of the Lord

Luke 1:38-45

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... powerful sentence Elizabeth reveals to Mary why God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. Ever wondered that? Ever wondered why God chose Mary? You are about to find out. Take a look: “The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.” –Luke 1:45 (CEV) Now notice what Elizabeth did not say. She did not say, “Mary, you are blessed because you come from the right family. Mary, you are blessed because you are beautiful. Mary, you are blessed because you are intelligent. Mary ...

4544. Clean and Unclean

Mark 7:1-23

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... not be canceled, even to support one’s parents with one’s possessions. (See note below on 7:12, you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.) So, Jesus accuses the Pharisees and scribes of playing off one law (about the keeping of vows to God) against another (the support of one’s parents). In other words, beyond replying to the particular scribal custom of hand washing, Jesus rejects the whole basis of the criticism of his disciples, the scribal tradition, saying that it has no valid ...

4545. The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... command includes the reference to Galilee as the place where you will see him (v. 7). Matthew 28:7 has a similar statement, but Luke 24:6–7 simply mentions Galilee as the place where the promise of the resurrection was first given. This is in keeping with the fact that Luke’s accounts of the appearances of the risen Christ are all located in Judea. Matthew mentions a brief resurrection appearance to the women near the tomb (28:9–10) but emphasizes a Galilean appearance (28:16–20). As for Mark, the ...

4546. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Luke 3:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... (Isa. 38:4; Jer. 13:3) and is actually borrowed from the LXX version of Jer. 1:1–2 (“the word of God came to Jeremiah son of Hilkiah”). From this we may infer that Luke views John on the same level as the OT prophets (which is in keeping with John’s inclusion with the prophets in Luke 16:16). Now John is able to begin his ministry of preparing Israel for the appearance of the Messiah (as foretold in 1:15–17). In Luke 3:3 John’s preaching begins on a note significantly different from Matthew’s ...

4547. The Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... and that it was Matthew who altered the sequence. 4:1 Mark 1:12 states, “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,” while a little less graphically Matt. 4:1 reads, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert.” Luke, though, in keeping with his Spirit-filling theme, puts it this way: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert. Not only had Jesus been conceived through the Holy Spirit (1:35), but the Spirit had descended upon him at ...

4548. The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... who finally sees that justice is carried out for an insignificant widow), then a greater case must be valid (a holy, caring God who will help his own people who ask him). But there is also another point of comparison as seen in vv. 7b–8a: Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. That is, whereas the unjust judge had to be nagged over a long period of time before he would finally, and grudgingly, act, God will not delay but will act promptly. The presence ...

4549. Jesus' Death

Luke 23:44-49

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... 31:5 is particularly suitable for the dying Jesus. Implicit is that Jesus, like David, faced opposition from his own people, and, like David, entrusts his spirit to God (see Fitzmyer, p. 1519). 23:47 praised [or “glorified”] God: Luke has added this idea, which is in keeping with his wider concern to portray his characters as praising and glorifying God (see 2:20; 5:26; 13:13; 17:15–16; 18:43; Acts 4:21; 11:18; 21:20). righteous: Tiede (p. 425) suggests that the centurion’s confession that Jesus was ...

4550. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... theme of this section in verse 19: the “reverent use of freedom” (The Book of Common Prayer) and the upbuilding of the church in love. Peace and edification (v. 19) are not conceived of passively, but actively and positively. Paul advocates not merely keeping the peace, but pursuing (Gk. diōkein [see Additional Note]) peace and growth, thus bringing into reality something which does not yet exist. The pursuit of peace is an important vocation of the believer (12:18). The NT understands peace not simply ...

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