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 4938 results

4726. Grits, Grats and Gruts...Not Grunts

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"Where there's a will...." This sermon brings together the financial concept of needing to have a will with the faith concept of needing to have a willing nature, to help people see the complex interconnections between the spiritual and the material, our will and our work, our desires and our deeds. The good news is that by continually flexing our spiritual willpower we can experience redeeming acts of resurrection in our lives. Do you have a will? Everyone needs one. You must not die without it. Do you ...

4727. Is Your Christmas Spirit a Controlled Substance?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Note: It is recommended that you hand out to every one a wooden match as part of this sermon. We are two days into the “Twelve Days of Christmas” countdown. This means you are either swimming in the “Christmas spirit,” or you have by now been swamped by the “Christmas spirit.” Which is it? How many of you are swamped? How many of you are swimming? We are supposed to be suffused with the “Christmas spirit” these days. But here’s our problem: the “spirit” that is touted as “Christmas,” as in “Christmas ...

4728. What Is a Good Samaritan?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a world that teaches achievement (doing), Jesus teaches us the values of aliveness (being). The essence of Christianity is being, not doing. As Billy Graham has been preaching to the world for 40 years, if you want to make a difference, you have to be different. This was the error of the lawyer Jesus spoke with in today's gospel text. The lawyer wanted to reach his goal, his desired finish line of "eternal life" by doing something, by achieving something. The Good Samaritan parable demonstrates that we ...

4729. Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today's gospel passage comes in the middle of Luke's "journeying" section. The text opens with an obviously Lukan addition that asserts Jesus is still "on the way to Jerusalem." But the path Jesus has chosen is slow and apparently circuitous. In order to be passing through "the region between Samaria and Galilee," Jesus would have been traveling along an east/west boundary, with Galilee to the north and Jerusalem far to the south. By noting Jesus' boundary position, Luke sets the scene for the mixed ethnic ...

4730. 2 Kings 5:1-14

2 Kings 5:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's Hebrew text parades a fascinating cast of characters through a moving and fast-moving tale of miraculous healing and transformation. The story is one of many "Elisha stories" which collectively demonstrate just how different the prophetic ministry of Elisha was from that of his better-known predecessor Elijah. Despite the power this healing story demonstrates, nowhere in this tale does Elisha behave as a traditional Israelite prophet. There is no great prophetic speech, no formulaic discourse; ...

4731. Close Up - Wives: Sweet Surrender

Colossians 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Respect - if the coach doesn't have it, he loses control of the team. If the officer doesn't have it, he loses control of his troops. If the teacher doesn't have it, he loses control of the class. If the home doesn't have it, then the entire family is in trouble. We are in the middle of a series entitled, "Picture Perfect" and we have said over and over, "God desires for your family to reflect His glory." The way the family does that is by each member of the family fulfilling their God given roles and ...

4732. Woe to the Blessed

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

One of my all-time favorite television programs was M*A*S*H. In the early episodes, Frank Burns and Hot Lips Houlihan were an item. Often they were pitted against Trapper John and Hawkeye. In one such episode, Frank and Hot Lips had been trying to "do-in" Hawkeye but had failed. Hawkeye now had the upper hand, and Radar said, "Why don't you do to them what they were trying to do to you?" Hawkeye said, "Look at them! They're each just one-half of a person and when they come together, they barely make a ...

4733. A Tax Collector Becomes Rich

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

This chapter of Luke brings us ever closer to the end of Jesus' public ministry. Jesus enters Jericho, just fifteen miles or so from the holy city of Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus transforms the life of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. This is one of the few stories that is peculiar to Luke and is a wonderful human-interest story. The fact that Zacchaeus is willing to climb a tree to see Jesus is a clear indication that he really wanted to see and meet the carpenter from Nazareth. His eagerness to see ...

4734. God’s Grammar

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

John Jamison

In the last reading from Paul's letter to the church at Galatia, he addressed the ongoing feud in the early church and reminded the folks that salvation comes from faith alone, and not from working to follow some collection of man-made laws. This week's reading continues Paul's warning to the Galatians. But if he faced strong resistance over the issues of clean and unclean foods, and the issue of circumcision, it was just a dress rehearsal for the real battle he faces now. As we did last week, it might be ...

4735. Isaiah: The Prophet of Gloom and Glory

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

Of all the writing prophets of Israel, Isaiah stands out above them all. He uses the language like a poet to present to us incredible pictures that lift up God and how God will bring salvation to God's people. In fact, the name Isaiah means, "Yahweh is salvation." But just as the book of Isaiah stands out for its beautiful presentation and powerful message, it also stands out for the controversy surrounding who wrote what within its 66 chapters. One of the reasons for the question of authorship is the life ...

4736. Every Day God Equips

John 14:15-27

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I grew up in construction. My Dad worked in construction either for someone else or later for his own construction company. I learned about tools and how to use them early on. If Dad was working on something and hollered for a Magillacuddy's double-barreled left-handed wedginator, I'd better know what it was. When I was in the Coast Guard, I was a marine diesel mechanic and while in school we had a week long class on tools. Until that time, I'd never met anybody who didn't know how to use the business end ...

4737. A Chance To Hear

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Three retirees, each with hearing loss, were taking a walk one fine March day. One of them remarked to the other, "Windy, ain't it?" "No," the second man replied, "It's Thursday." And the third man chimed in, "So am I, let's stop and get a Coke." Hearing loss is really no laughing matter, I know. For the past couple of years my family has been making fun of the things I thought I'd heard. Well, about five months ago I finally had my hearing tested and now I wear hearing aids. The difference for me was ...

4738. Five Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 21-24, 32-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A Sunday School teacher told the class the story of David and Goliath. He embellished the story with all kinds of details, emphasizing, especially, David's deep faith in God. He animated with gestures and movements; and he concluded with all the details of how little David killed the giant Goliath with a rock from his sling. At the end of the story he asked the class what lesson they had learned. One of the little boys popped up and said: "Duck!" This morning we examine one of the best known stories of the ...

4739. Hope That God Is Nearby

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

I made a discovery some time ago on the word processor that I want to share with you. The difference between the phrase ‘God is nowhere’ and ‘God is now here’ is one tap on the space bar. A. For Some People, God Is Nowhere. He Is Non-Existent. Atheist Richard Dawkins writes, “God is a delusion. I suspect there are a lot of people out there who have been brought up in religion, are unhappy in it, don’t believe it, and wish they could leave it, but just don’t know that leaving is an option. Being an atheist ...

4740. Shaped By the Fire

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A mother asked her little girl if she would like an ice cream sundae. The little girl replied, "I don't want to wait until Sunday... I want ice cream NOW." (1) Have you ever waited expectantly for something? Christmas day, your Wedding Day, a birthday, commissioning. There's that whole jittery sense of anticipation. Well, that's sort of the way I've felt about this sermon. Partly because it's Pentecost Sunday, the day we received the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit and the day we celebrate as the birthday ...

4741. Three Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Have I told you the story of the two men who were sitting together on an airplane? As some are wont to do, when strapped together thirty thousand feet above where they ought to be, they begin to get acquainted. One man was an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be summed up in the phrase, ‘Jesus Loves Me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ The theologian, somewhat ...

4742. The Power to Make a Difference

Acts 16:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." — That's what I want us to think about today. Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, sailed the seas of the Western Mediterranean preaching the gospel and establishing churches. He debated the finest philosophers in Athens and wrote a good portion of the New Testament. But one of Paul's finest ...

4743. David: The Problem of Family

2 Samuel 18:28-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For nearly a hundred years now Americans have paused on the third Sunday in June to honor their fathers. There are about 66 million of us fathers in the United States. Either out of love or obligation, people will spend one billion dollars buying us 100 million neckties. It's Father's Day. There is a father whose name appears in the Bible more than any other name. That man is David. Jerusalem is called the City of David. Jesus is called the Son of David. He was a man of great accomplishment although ...

4744. Embracing Christ—The Light of the World

John 8:12-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Do you remember the old story about an atheist walking through the woods admiring all the accidents of nature? As he absorbed the majestic trees, the powerful rivers, the beautiful animals, he suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to see what was the matter, the atheist found himself face-to-face with a seven-foot grizzly bear. The atheist did what any of us would do. He ran for dear life, but the bear was too fast and the atheist soon fell to the ground in exhaustion. Now eye-to-eye ...

4745. Ruining the Christmas Spirit

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

This morning is the first Sunday of Advent, and therefore the first Sunday of the church year. We begin Year A of the cycle, which is Matthew's year. When I read the scripture lesson, you may have noticed a couple of things. You may have noticed that we read a passage from near the end of Matthew. It may seem strange to read from near the end of the book that will guide us during the next year. Shouldn't we start at the beginning? We don't actually read from near the beginning of the book until the fourth ...

4746. Why Did You Bring Us Out of Egypt?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I am a baby boomer. I am part of that generation that emerged following World War II. Yes, we're the ones who will soon be clogging the social security system. We're the ones who climbed to adulthood during the 1960s. We grooved to the Beatles and rocked to the Rolling Stones. We got political and protested a war, and many of us — many more than ever before — went to college. We were the ones who were going to change the world. Well, so much for good intentions. Some things, though, did change during those ...

4747. Surprises

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

You hope for good surprises, but many of life's surprises are the bad kind. The new Christians Peter writes to have been surprised by facing persecution for their faith. Verse 1, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." Jews, especially Jews who lived outside of Palestine, were used to being treated as different and sometimes were despised for their faith. Yet, these Christians Peter writes to are ...

4748. We Are the Champions

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Larry Lange

The year I knew Jack, one of the cattle he had raised was awarded the title "State Champion Steer." The big brown-eyed animal, nonchalantly chewing straw, unaware of his celebrity status, was adorned with a blue ribbon, purchased by the highest bidder, slaughtered, sliced up into steaks and roasts, and ground up into burgers. The year I knew Jack, he was a champion among farmers, but he was also a champion at his church. When an interim pastor began serving at Jack's church that year, he immediately ...

4749. Fighting Back Against Falling Back

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

You’ve had a couple of weeks to adjust. How you doing . . . fighting back against falling back? Spring forward; fall back. These past couple of weeks your bio-rhythms have been batty, fighting back after “falling back” or maybe even “falling flat.” Retreating one hour in order to get back to “Standard Time” is supposed to make our mid-winter mornings less dark and dismal. Unfortunately, as anyone who lives above the 45th parallel knows, those brighter “a.m.’s” come attached to distinctly darker and longer ...

4750. K.I.S.S.

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman tells about her five-year-old son playing in his first neighborhood softball game. The little guy named Frankie stepped up to the plate while his Dad shouted instructions from the sidelines. Mom and Dad both cheered excitedly when Frankie clouted the ball well out into right field. Charged with excitement, the youngster scampered around first base and rounded second. Then, confused by so much shouting, he hesitated on third base and seemed not to know what to do next. “Run HOME, Frankie!” his dad ...

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