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 4726 to 4750 of 4977 results

Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious.

G. K. Chesterton

4727. OK Boomer

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... have not love, I am nothing . . .” (I Cor. 13:2) A close reading of the Gospels will reveal that Jesus intended his followers to get into action serving the world as he served the world. I don’t mean that He wanted us to keep busy just for the sake of keeping busy. I have seen churches like that. They have a terrific calendar of activities, but very few of those activities are meaningful in bringing persons closer to the kingdom of God. Jesus did not mean for us to adopt a motto of the French Foreign ...

4728. Cross Choices

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... are no absolute “either/or” situations out there. We want it both ways, and naively hope that evil will somehow turn into good so that we don’t have to be called on to make a final and total rejection of whatever it is we want to keep holding onto. But Christian apologist C.S. Lewis pointed out that this belief leads only to disaster because life is not like the radii of a circle, all leading eventually to the center, or even like tributary creeks and streams, all flowing together into the main river ...

4729. When It Doesn't Last

Humor Illustration

Staff

Lady asked Billy Sunday: Why do you keep having revivals when it doesn't last? He asked her, "Why do you keep taking baths?"

4730. Wavering Notes by an Uncertain Trumpet

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Ron Love

... patiently we are to “strive to be found by Jesus at peace, without spot or blemish.” We are to continue to live in the image of Jesus. We are to be obedient to all the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. We should always keep before us the list of Christian attributes that are recorded by Paul in Galatians. These are: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Paul said Jesus is going to return in final judgment, but ...

4731. Standing in the Forecastle

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Ron Love

... of the church is exhilarating, not depressing. A happy church knows that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus taught, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We won’t see darkness if we keep facing Jesus, the light of the world. We must remember, that if we face the sun our shadow will fall behind us; but, if we turn our backs on the sun our shadows will fall in front of us. The message of a happy church is that if we continue ...

4732. Seeking Joy

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... beautiful story about his four-year-old son. Listen carefully. He said he and his son were out walking when they found a small rubber ball, the kind you get from a cheap vending machine. His son asked if he could keep the ball, and Paul said yes. Paul says, “When I told my son that he could keep the ball he looked up at me very excitedly and said, ‘This is the best day EVER!’” Then Paul Jensen adds, “And at that moment, I hated everything about being an adult.” I know what he means. Why is it so ...

4733. A Sure Path to the NFL

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Paul Veyne, Roman fathers in Jesus’ day were allowed to decide whether their newborn children lived or died. After a Roman baby was born, the father examined the child for signs of health and robustness. And if the father decided that the child was worthwhile, then he would keep it. If not, he could leave the child out in the street to die. (3) That is not the kind of relationship that God wants with us. God offers each of us love without limits. But the idea of God as a loving Father who gives us our ...

4734. What Are We Protecting?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Roy Howard

... ’s community had with the Jewish leaders of his time? They were in a contest as to who was the rightful interpreter of Torah and the coming of the Messiah. That contest has led to violent rhetoric and violence itself, neither of which is in keeping with Jesus’ teaching, Matthew’s vision, nor with what is necessary for today when efforts are made to understand the common roots of Judaism and Christianity. For instance in light of the parable, we might place ourselves as the tenants of land given to us ...

4735. Crucifixion is Slow

Illustration

Tim Hansel

It's only by cracking our very nature that God is able to even begin to make us vessels for His living word. We are called to be crucified with Christ. When I was younger and struggling hard with that concept, I asked a saintly, elderly woman, "Why, if my old nature has been crucified with Christ, does it continue to keep on wiggling?" She smiled and said in a quiet voice, "You must remember, Tim, that crucifixion is a slow death."

4736. The Jesus Straightway

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... your patience.” All of our lives are spent in allowing Jesus to form and reform us into disciples of God’s heavenly kingdom. While we never reach perfection in this lifetime, we must continue to repent of our sins, and allow Jesus to smooth us out and keep us from stumbling. John’s voice is a voice of urgency, warning us that the time is coming soon. Repent, he says. Straighten out your life. Make way for the adventure of your life! [1] Note Jesus’ advice about the narrow road (Matt 7:13-14) less ...

4737. An Important Village with a Questionable Reputation

John 1:43-51

Sermon

King Duncan

... When he found out who the two were, he spent the next six months trying to please those two people. At the end of the year the church voted again and fired the pastor. This time the vote was 230 to fire him and 2 votes to keep him. You want to guess who voted to keep him? That’s right—the two people he sought so hard to please—which highly displeased the rest of the congregation. (4) You see, that pastor wasn’t called to make those 2 people happy. He was called to minister to everyone in that entire ...

4738. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the church at Corinth saying that he had the key to the faith, some hidden, esoteric wisdom that nobody but they could know. "For only $9.95 a week, I will let you in on the secret, hidden plan of salvation that will make you special and we'll just keep this wisdom here, among the enlightened." Paul asked, "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Cor. 1:20) In the world's great ''wisdom", it managed to miss the Messiah. "God chose what is foolish to shame the wise, God chose what is weak...to ...

4739. Imagine

Revelation 21:10, 22-26

Sermon

Will Willimon

... that grieving mother..."Ce sera, sera. What will be, will be. Some are born well, some born not so well. What can we do?" Or else, comfort the voice into a whine, or shake the fist and rage. "If that's all there is, my friend, then let's keep dancing, let's bring out the booze and have a ball, if that's all, there is." The world according to Peggy Lee. But it's alright with your preacher if you, want to dream a wild dream, a wild unmanaged, maladjusted, uncompromised dream of full stomachs, safe streets ...

4740. Homecoming

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the loss of his friend made him vow never again so much to love the contingent, the mortal, the transient. How could you keep that vow in a world where it's all contingent, mortal, and transient? What lasts? Oh, we build this Chapel big, and solid, and ... could only agree with her despair. A Duke surgeon spoke. "I agree it's bad. I don't have an answer. I'm Catholic. And the church keeps telling us that this place isn't our home. This place is just a training ground for eternity, a journey. It's our job to be ...

4741. Homecoming

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... me, found that the ache of the loss gradually receded. You got up, you went on, but still, at moments when you least expect, grief grips you again and you realize there are not many days in this life without loss. Those whom we love keep leaving, keep journeying to "that land from which no traveler has ever returned." Emily Dickinson spoke of the "hour of lead" when grief drags down like lead, despite our determined efforts to rise. My friend, Stuart, for whom I still grieve, once showed me a picture of ...

4742. Our Light

Genesis 1:1-5 · Mark 1:9-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the long run, what difference does it make? It would be fine to know, once-and-for-all, beyond any doubt, that God exists. But would that really satisfy our deepest longings? What good would it do us to know that there was some great, cosmic mechanic, keeping the whole thing going, writing messages with his stars? What good would that do you, or the old man dying of emphysema in Duke North, or the Sophomore whose love has been rejected, or the child starving in East Africa? So what? So what that, I REALLY ...

4743. The Law of the Serpent

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... few of us truly want to take. Cause we like things the way they are. This is the real sin of the human spirit, the truth that keeps us from God’s truth. If the world is in motion, then sin is stasis. And we as a people love, love, love stasis. Our scriptures for ... To follow Jesus is to do the exact opposite of what our humanness might cause us to want to do –to hide ourselves, to keep things the way they are, to seek security in stasis, to avoid risk. And yet by avoiding risk, we take the greatest risk ...

4744. The Real "Lord's Prayer"

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... is the strength of the locomotive that pulls the heavy train across the bridge, and there is the strength of the bridge that holds up the weight of the train. One is active strength, the other is passive strength. One is the power to keep going, the other is the power to keep still. One is the strength by which we overcome; the other is the strength by which we endure.” (5) Jesus’ prayer is a great reminder to us that God never intended us to suffer and struggle through life under our own strength. We ...

4745. Clean Hands

Psalm 26:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

... church to remind God of how well he has kept up his side of the bargain. God's job is to make rules. Our job is to keep the rules. He doesn't ask anything of God, for what is there to ask? The relationship to God is fixed, settled, complete, finished. All you come ... , taking inventory of my virtues: Integrity? check. Trust? check. Faithfulness? check. Innocence? check. Your job is to be obedient, right, to keep your hands clean and not to press God too much about things. God's job is to respond when we push ...

4746. And That’s All I Need To Know

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... . King Saul was shocked when David offered to fight the giant. David’s only training had been as a shepherd. What did he know about fighting giants? In his answer we see, once again, the spirit of a good shepherd. “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it, and killed it. Your ...

4747. Loving Through Action

1 John 3:14-24

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to deceive ourselves, for we are certainly not deceiving God, for he knows us better than we know ourselves. Therefore, we must keep our words and actions, every endeavor of our life, close to Christ by obeying his commandments. We must follow the lead of ... works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has ...

4748. Tales from the Field

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... those who appear to be different. Jesus however tell us that all followers of Jesus, no matter what they talk like, look like, or act like, are all part of his diverse and beautiful flock, all made in the image of God, unified in their faith. By keeping our focus on Jesus, we become unified in Him. But the moment we take our eyes off of Jesus, our focus can easily shift onto each other and the differences between us. The inclination of human beings to separate sheep into “folds” is insidious and real ...

4749. Jesus' Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... did he send a Savior like Jesus who, when confronted by our need, just stands there and quotes scripture? If God is love and God is power, why, in the name of heaven, does God just stand there? Why doesn't he do something? If you want a question to keep in mind as we ponder this strange story of the temptation, let this be it -- if you are the Son of God, why don't you act like it and do something? The Bible finds uninteresting the modem infatuation "ls there a God?" The Bible's chief interest is, "What ...

4750. Walking with God

Acts 2:1-21 · John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the gospel, excited about what the world could become, charged up to be change-makers, assured in what they were meant to be and do. With the Holy Spirit as their guide, they would go out and change the world as they knew it. We are called to keep that mission alive. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Truth, our advocate and guide, has been sent to each and every one of us to guide us and comfort us, advocate on our behalf, and lead us into the future, proclaiming Christ risen, calling ...

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