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 4626 to 4650 of 4977 results

4626. Blasphemy Against the Spirit

Illustration

Staff

... man can be forgiven. Among the many attempts at exegesis, the most convincing is the suggestion that the man who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is he who has recognized that God is working through the Holy Spirit in the actions of Jesus, and who quite consciously "misrepresent faith in God as faith in the devil. This saying is an extremely serious warning against the demonic and scarcely conceivable potential in man: To declare war on God. This is not done in weakness and doubt, but by one who has been ...

4627. Clinging Creepers

Illustration

J. Alistair Brown

... the tree again, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine's creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds' nests in it. Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. The gardeners in the park, seeing the danger, had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine's branches still clung to the oak ...

4628. Fill In the Gaps

Illustration

Staff

... ; though I strained and tried, only a whisper would come. Then I saw that along the edge there were sentries set at intervals. But the intervals were far too great; there were wide, unguarded gaps between. And over these gaps the people fell in their blindness, quite unwarned; and the green grass seemed blood-red to me, and the gulf yawned like the mouth of hell. Then I saw, like a little picture of peace, a group of people under some trees, with their backs turned towards the gulf. They were making daisy ...

4629. A Job Well Done

Col 3:7

Illustration

H. A. Ironside

When I was a boy, I felt it was both a duty and a privilege to help my widowed mother make ends meet by finding employment in vacation time, on Saturdays and other times when I did not have to be in school. For quite a while I worked for a Scottish shoemaker, or "cobbler," as he preferred to be called, an Orkney man, named Dan Mackay. He was a forthright Christian and his little shop was a real testimony for Christ in the neighborhood. The walls were literally covered with Bible texts and pictures, ...

4630. Sing on Pitch

Illustration

Donald Grey Barnhouse

... their work. It was talked about and someone suggested that it was because the bells of Westminster were slightly out of tune. Something had gone wrong with the chimes and they were discordant. The boys did not know there was anything wrong with the peals, and quite unconsciously they had copied their pitch. So we tend to copy the people with whom we associate; we borrow thoughts from the books we read and the programs to which we listen, almost without knowing it. God has given us His Word which is the ...

4631. The Missing Figure in the Nativity Scene

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” The Gospels give us a rough outline of John’s life. According to Luke, John was Jesus’ second cousin. John also was the product of a miraculous birth. His parents were both quite elderly when John was born. According to Luke’s account, before the angel Gabriel was dispatched to the Virgin Mary, he first appeared to an elderly priest named Zachariah. At the time, Zachariah was in the temple performing his priestly functions. Gabriel told ...

4632. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... get up on its legs, she kicks it again, and again. Finally, the little giraffe stands for the first time on its very wobbly legs. He’s now ready to follow her and the rest of the herd. Please understand. The mother giraffe is not being cruel to her baby. Quite the contrary! She knows that lions and hyenas and leopards would love to make a meal of a baby giraffe. So, she needs her baby calf to get to its feet as quickly as possible so that it can keep up with the herd. Kicking him is her way of ...

4633. Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Some things never change. Like weddings and funerals (which some wag once said were the same except at weddings you smell your own flowers). Jesus’ wedding parable in this week’s gospel reading describes a situation where things don’t go quite according to plan. We don’t know a great deal about all the particulars involved in a first century Jewish wedding. But like twenty-first century weddings, things never run right on schedule. Delays and minor “disasters” are the norm, it seems, across the ...

4634. A Volunteer Inspector Clouseau

Humor Illustration

Throughout Edward Gibbons Moore's years of working at the CIA he had been squirreling away various classified documents for his own personal use. After he quit the CIA, he put his plan in motion. He bundled up his classified documents and threw them over the wall of the Soviet embassy in Washington. Also in the bundle was a note from Moore offering more secrets for a fee of $200,000. The note set up a meeting ...

4635. If Anything Can Go Wrong…

Humor Illustration

... . No matter how long or hard you shop for an item, after you've bought it, it will be on sale somewhere cheaper. Any tool dropped while repairing a car will roll underneath to the exact center. The repairman will never have seen a model quite like yours before. You will remember that you forgot to take out the trash when the garbage truck is two doors away. The smallest hole will eventually empty the largest container, unless it is made intentionally for drainage, in which case it will clog. (Dave Grissom ...

4636. Timing Is Critical

Humor Illustration

... over without reservation. He noticed, though, that most of the evening the cymbal player stood motionless while the other musicians played on. Only occasionally was the cymbal player called upon to make his contribution and even then his time of glory was quite brief. Timing is critical to advertising. After the concert the little boy's parents took him backstage to meet some of the musicians. The little fellow immediately sought out the cymbalist. "Say, mister," he asked sincerely, "How much do you need to ...

4637. Don't Go Out Now

Humor Illustration

... It was New Year's Day at Pete's house. His grandfather, a man ninety-four years of age was there and so were many of the old gentleman's sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, and even great-grandsons and great-granddaughters. It was quite a crowd, to be sure. The bowl games were on television. Children were playing with their Christmas toys. The ladies were trying to rest from the meal preparation and housecleaning, and the men were wandering from the television to the scraps of turkey and boxes ...

4638. Keep Running

Humor Illustration

A middle-aged man was puffing around the track that circled the high school football field while the team was practicing. When the players started running their sprints up and down the field, he told himself, "I'll just keep running until they quit." So they ran. And he ran. And they kept running. And he kept running. Finally, in exhaustion he stopped. An equally exhausted football player walked past the jogger and said, "Boy, I'm glad you finally stopped, mister. Coach told us we had to keep running wind ...

4639. Age: Father Time

Humor Illustration

The 80-year-old man, although still spry and in excellent health, felt it necessary to resist the determined advances of a widow some 2 years his junior. He came up with this quick excuse: "Mother and Father are both against it." "You're not going to tell me that your parents are still living?" cried the woman. "Quite the contrary. I'm referring to Mother Nature and Father Time."

4640. The Young Pastor

Humor Illustration

... officers. They invited his District Superintendent to come for a meeting. The Superintendent immediately sided with the young pastor's critics and publicly chastised this young pastor in front of the entire congregation. It was all very humiliating. The entire room was quite hushed as the pastor stood slowly to his feet to respond. The younger man hung his head and said softly, "I'm sorry. I can make mistakes." Then looking at his congregation he said, "each of you can make mistakes. Even our Superintendent ...

4641. How Do You Spell 'God'?

Humor Illustration

... asking her one more question for the Records. "Tell me, dear lady, how do you spell 'God''?" The woman spells it perfectly, then enters the Pearly Gates. Finally, St. Peter calls in the third woman. He also apologizes to her, but she refuses to accept his apology. "It was quite rude," she says angrily. "All my life on earth I had to wait in lines. Wait at the checkout counter, wait at the bus stop, wait for the kids to get home from school, wait for my coffee break. And now you expect me to wait to get into ...

4642. You Are My Sunshine

Humor Illustration

... elevator serious, tense, gloomy-but he chose not to be like them. As he got on the elevator, he turned and faced the people behind him instead of facing the elevator doors. Then he smiled at all assembled and said, "We're going to be traveling together for quite a while, you know." And then he added, "What do you say we all sing?" And would you believe they did it? All those serious business people sang a raucous round of "You Are My Sunshine." By the time they reached their floor, they were all laughing ...

4643. Back To Zero

Humor Illustration

... been waiting all night to hear her beau's special news. After the picnic, the couple drove around the park looking at the stars. All the while, the young man spoke of the solemnity of this moment. This was so special, so important to him. He didn't know quite how to share it with her. Then he smiled over at her with a beatific smile and said, "There, it's happened. My car just reached the 100,000 mile mark. 100,000 miles in this old beauty. Now the speedometer is starting over again. Everything is back to ...

4644. I Am Not the Shepherd

Humor Illustration

... first sight to greet them was a flock of sheep being driven not led by a man. The guide was astonished. Immediately he accosted the shepherd. "How is it that you are driving these sheep?" he asked. "I have always been told that Eastern shepherds lead their sheep." "You are quite right, sir," replied the man. "The shepherd does lead his sheep. But you see, I am not the shepherd. I am the butcher!"

4645. The Good Pay

Humor Illustration

An industrial expert went around asking different people, "What do you like best about your job?" "The good pay," one factory worker replied. "What do you like least about your job?" asked the expert. "The good pay," he said again. The expert was surprised. "What do you mean? You like it the best and you like it the least?" "Well, I like it because it pays me well, so that's the good part. But if it didn't pay so well, I'd quit! That would be better!"

4646. Back To The Fifties

Humor Illustration

... they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20. Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long when $5000 will only buy a used one. If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous. Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter? The Government is wanting to get its hands on everything. Pretty soon it's going to be impossible to run a family business or farm. If they ...

4647. Look In The Mirror

Humor Illustration

After being away on business, a man thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. "How about some perfume?" he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. "That's a bit much," the man said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. "That's still quite a bit," he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. "What I mean," he said, "is I'd like to see something really cheap." So the clerk handed him a mirror.

4648. Where Do Babies Come From?

Humor Illustration

One mother reports that she and her children were out for a ride when her four-year-old daughter suddenly asked their five-year-old son, "Where do babies come from?" The parents were silent while the little boy thought it over and finally answered. "Babies come from heaven." This explanation didn't quite satisfy little sister who then asked, "If babies come from heaven, why do people go to the hospital to get them? The little boy answered, "Because that's where they get their skins put on!"

4649. In Search of Customer Service

Humor Illustration

... forgot to bring a spoon with his coffee. After trying unsuccessfully to get the waitress's attention, he announced in a loud voice, "This coffee is going to be pretty hot to stir with my fingers." Within seconds, the waitress appeared with another cup of coffee. "This cup isn't quite as hot, sir," she beamed.

4650. It Will Cost You

Humor Illustration

... morning. The church was packed. Grandmother was sitting in the choir. She noticed grandfather nodding off. However, Tommy made no effort to wake him. Grandfather even started snoring right there in the crowded Easter service. Still Tommy did nothing. After the service grandmother was quite disturbed. She said, "Tommy what happened? You knew I would pay you fifty cents after the service if you kept grandfather awake." Tommy said, "Yes Ma'am, but grandfather offered me a $1.00 if I would let him sleep."

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Showing 4626 to 4650 of 4977 results

4626. Blasphemy Against the Spirit

Illustration

Staff

4627. Clinging Creepers

Illustration

J. Alistair Brown

4628. Fill In the Gaps

Illustration

Staff

4629. A Job Well Done

Col 3:7

Illustration

H. A. Ironside

4630. Sing on Pitch

Illustration

Donald Grey Barnhouse

4631. The Missing Figure in the Nativity Scene

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

4632. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

4633. Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

4634. A Volunteer Inspector Clouseau

Humor Illustration

4635. If Anything Can Go Wrong…

Humor Illustration

4636. Timing Is Critical

Humor Illustration

4637. Don't Go Out Now

Humor Illustration

4638. Keep Running

Humor Illustration

4639. Age: Father Time

Humor Illustration

4640. The Young Pastor

Humor Illustration

4641. How Do You Spell 'God'?

Humor Illustration

4642. You Are My Sunshine

Humor Illustration

4643. Back To Zero

Humor Illustration

4644. I Am Not the Shepherd

Humor Illustration

4645. The Good Pay

Humor Illustration

4646. Back To The Fifties

Humor Illustration

4647. Look In The Mirror

Humor Illustration

4648. Where Do Babies Come From?

Humor Illustration

4649. In Search of Customer Service

Humor Illustration

4650. It Will Cost You

Humor Illustration

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