Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: contest, tournament, match, game, round, heat, fixture, event, meet, encounter, rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war, opposing side, other side, other team, field, enemy, foe

Showing 451 to 475 of 676 results

451. From Envy to Gratitude

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... deadly ways by myself and others." Envy. It lurks around schools. It's in the market place where we compete with one another and wonder why we didn't get a better shake. Remember the old Jewish folk tale about two merchants who were always in competition with each other? One day God decided to put an end to such foolishness. He had an angel deliver this message to one of the merchants. The message went as follows: “I the Lord Almighty have decided you can have anything you want in this world — riches ...

452. Pray

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... rest. It's near to the heart of God. This kind of prayer has historically been called centering prayer. It's reflective prayer. It's realizing that God is within us, closer than the air we breathe, nearer than our conscious selves. In our noisy, competitive, demanding world, could we not use some quiet contemplation with a God like that? God is in every breath we take. Breathe deeply and know God. IV. PRAYER IS CEASELESS AWARENESS “Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). How can anyone do that? Even ...

453. This Little Light of Mine

Matthew 5:14-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of me and there is just so much to go around." We know about burnout. So, how can we get the most years out of life and the most life out of our years? Let Christ increase while we decrease. That is what John the Baptist did. When competition broke out between the disciples of John and the disciples of Jesus, John stepped in and said, “He must increase and I must decrease." He is the bridegroom, I am just an attendant." My mother used to put it this way, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be passed. Only ...

454. Greed or the Gospel?

Acts 8:9-13, 18-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... hero. There is a difference between true greatness and merely making a name for yourself. Simon didn't really understand the difference in this story. II. SIMON WAS A MAN IN NEED OF FORTUNE. He knew how to make money and he wanted more of it. So when competition came to town, he tried to buy them out. “Peter, what will you take for the power of the Holy Spirit?" Peter answers, “May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money." I need to tell you that is the ...

455. The Humble King

John 12:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... left that option open, nor did He intend to. Jesus is Lord. It was the earliest Christian Creed. Are you willing to crown Him Lord of your life? The real question today in 2005 is He your Lord? Have you crowned Him Lord of all. Is He fighting today in competition with all of the other gods that we have created in our own world? Would you dare to bow before Him on Palm Sunday and crown Him Lord of all? Not to the gates of Jerusalem alone does Jesus ride today, but to the gates of our hearts. There He ...

456. By Belonging

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... one another is first of all to acknowledge, in the presence of God, that we belong to each other as children of the same God." To pray for others means to tear down countless walls that we have erected between ourselves and others. It is to turn from competition to community. Seldom a day goes by but what somebody says to me "Is there something we can do for you?" I always answer the same way because the answer is always the same. “Absolutely. Yes, there is something you can do for me and countless others ...

457. Marketing or Disciplemaking?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the figure may be closer to 25% or 26% of Americans who show up at church on an average week to worship God. Regardless of the statistics, the reality is this: you and I have to make worship a high priority in our lives. There is no question about it. Competition for our time is more fierce than ever before. I don't have to tell you that. You experience that; you had to decide that today. The argument for your time is intense. There was a time in this country when Sundays were separated from the rest of the ...

458. Finding Our Place in the Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... black and white, male and female; Jews and Greeks can be loved and accepted as complete children of God. Church hierarchy ought to be an 'oxymoron' in the body of Christ. A weird word like Holy war, working vacation, burial benefits, small crowd. Jesus said to his competitive disciples who were arguing about greatness along the road, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." II. THE BODY OF CHRIST HAS ONE SPIRIT "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body and ...

459. Sickness Rearranges Priorities

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

... confirmed when he won the Iron Kids Triathlon—a combination of swimming, biking and running. Three years later at the tender age of 16 he became a professional triathlon athlete. When most children were trying to compete at their local high schools, and entering armature competitions, Linda's boy was making money as an athlete. He worked hard and sometimes his training would take him to the edge of the state to the Oklahoma border where he would call his mom. Mom, he would say, I've gotten too far out ...

460. Why We Need the Pledge of Allegiance

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... 't feel we stumbled through the first part of our concert. Our parents smiled politely, while our little sisters and brothers squirmed restlessly. Some of our grandparents with hearing problems even managed to smile. Finally, after too many minutes of painful lapses and a competition between ourselves and the piano, which neither won, we came to our last section, the one we knew best. As we raced through the opening lines, a few people actually stood up! At first we thought they were walking out on us, but ...

461. Mistaken Identity

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , and "deceive" us into a whole new attitude. Consider, for example, the report of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a former New York cosmetic surgeon, who tells of a magazine contest to find the ugliest young woman in the United States. Cruel as such a competition may seem, the magazine editors actually hoped to change the life of this unfortunate person for the better. Photos poured in from all over North America. The editors selected a young woman with poor features, terrible grooming, and appalling clothes as the ...

462. Kingdoms in Conflict

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... of that, people mill about or wander aimlessly. England prior to Churchill was a patchwork of competing ideologies stymied at the crossroads of the twentieth century's critical international events. India before Gandhi lacked cohesive identity and played a game of competitive kowtowing to expatriate authorities, and it was only turned around when he helped inspire a national common cause. Even more tragic is the situation in the kingdom of heaven. The problem, as Jesus' story puts it, is that the great ...

463. Dressed for the Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Chris Ewing

464. Losers, Weepers

Isaiah 49:8-16a

Sermon

Tony Everett

... pain of loss in many different forms. We have lost wallets or purses; keys or address books; tools or toys. Some of us have even lost our automobiles in crowded parking lots. Have you ever watched young children participating in their first organized athletic competition? Winning brings loud cheers and high fives. Losing brings jeers and tears. Losing hurts. It can be devastating to lose even what seems to be a trivial object or a meaningless game. Losing can often shape the way we understand ourselves, our ...

465. A Match Made in Heaven

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... their wedding day, with Laban standing in between — does feature a match made in heaven. But it is not necessarily Jacob and Rachel. Rather, the truly providential match is the relationship between Jacob and Laban. Jacob met his match in Laban. After the Triple-A competition of Esau through his growing-up years, now Jacob was in the big leagues. And, he was repeatedly bested by his senior con artist, Laban. Could this have been part of the wisdom that Isaac and Rebecca saw in sending Jacob to his uncle's ...

466. A Disconcerting Sight

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... that as remaining babes in Christ, or so it seems to me. Others dislike this idea of Christian growth, of striving toward the goal, because it seems to set up a spiritual hierarchy that strikes us as, well, unchristian. Does this not foster a kind of competitiveness of those who are further along the path to perfection? Does it not suggest that there might be some people who, for whatever reason, are more suited than others for a particular task? And, as Christian people, are we not to believe that we are ...

467. Lighting up Lent

Ephesians 5:8-14

Sermon

David O. Bales

... their experience as coming out of a dark cloud into the sunlight. Have you realized that taverns and bars are dark for a reason? So people can hide. I have a friend who goes to Las Vegas for market. He must go there to see the competition and exhibit his wares. He's figured out how Las Vegas uses light in an aggressive way. Instead of allowing people to sneak around and gamble in the dark, Las Vegas uses light as though gambling is this wonderfully decent, constructive, and invigorating activity. They use ...

468. A Truly Universal Operating System

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Larry Lange

... sort of sacred meat at all Macrosoft functions would raise questions in the minds of customers and potential customers alike: If Macrosoft has not properly honored the god of computers, how can Macrosoft guarantee that they sell quality products? The competition would certainly be able to exploit this neglect of standard business practices in the ancient world. Billius personally knew of no corporation that had succeeded without sacrificing meat to idols. "Some people, I suppose, just can't eat meat," said ...

469. Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... churches in Macedonia, in the northern area of Greece, so he challenges the Corinthians to live up to the reputation he has established for them. Paul also praises the efforts of the churches in Macedonia, hoping to stir up a little healthy competition among the various churches. Today we practice anonymous giving since it is impolite for church people to talk about their giving. But doesn't anonymous giving easily become anonymous non-giving? While spiritual humility insists that we not flaunt our giving ...

470. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... is right and what is wrong, then I’m not their counselor.” What kind of counselor is that? Some years ago, Dennis Prager made a documentary, For Goodness Sake! In this film he showed a mother defending her son’s cheating in school. “It’s very competitive out there,” she contended, “and, if he doesn’t cheat, he won’t get in to good schools; everybody else does it.” The documentary cuts to a scene of this same woman being wheeled into surgery. With a frightened look on her face, she asks ...

471. 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in love and concern. He points out the wrong-headed, ridiculous nature of their arguments and assumptions. Scholars generally find two themes running through Paul’s opening admonishment to the Corinthian church. First, and most obvious, is Paul’s condemnation of any competition or divisiveness by those who count themselves a part of the body of Christ. Paul proclaims that a unity of mind and thought, not a spirit of contentious oneupsmanship, must prevail in order for the body of Christ to remain whole ...

472. God’s Kind of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

... happiness in terms of wealth. "Happy are those who mourn." We have been taught that happiness means never experiencing anything that causes us grief. "Happy are those who are humble." We have been taught that happiness is defined in terms of aggression and the competitive spirit. "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires." We have been taught that happiness lies in the desire to conform to the values of our own society. "Happy are those who are merciful to others." We have been ...

473. Matthew 6:24-34

Matthew 6:25-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... what one will eat and drink and what clothing will be worn is also dubbed worthless worrying (v .27). Jesus reminds his listeners that “Your heavenly Father knows you need all these things.” In the pagan universe of “Gentiles” a myriad of competitive, combative gods and goddesses may or may not occasionally turn their attention to the mere mortals of this earth. No wonder striving after earthly things is constantly on the minds and ruling the desires of those who live without knowledge of the one ...

474. The Really Big Sale

Matthew 4:1-11

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... peek. As he lifted the soda can, he discovered that the can wasn't filled with soda at all. Instead it was a bottomless can filled with 1,000 BBs which gushed out, and ran all over the desk and cascaded onto the carpet. His attempt to short cut the competition was exposed. Not every temptation is so obvious. Not every failure is so embarrassing. But every temptation is a challenge. Not even Jesus was spared the choosing.

475. What’s the Bad News

Matthew 21:1-11

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... , "Jim, Jim, Jim, wake up! This is John." "John, where are you?" "I'm in heaven - and I have some good news and bad news. It's exciting, Jim. We do have baseball in heaven. It's great. We play every day and there are marvelous teams, and tough, exciting competition." "That's great," said Jim. "But what's the bad news?" "Well," said John, "You are scheduled to pitch next Tuesday."

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