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 4751 to 4775 of 4944 results

4751. No Fear

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have seen the words, "No Fear," on the back of cars driven by young men with their caps turned around backwards. I have seen "No Fear" emblazoned on T-shirts. I don't know about you, but the first time I saw those words, "No Fear," I immediately thought of 1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. I thought, isn't it wonderful, these kids are so sophisticated in the Bible. Then somebody told me that that is not what "No Fear" refers to. Which caused me some trepidation, ...

4752. Now What?

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Mark Trotter

4753. Until It Dawns on You

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Lord Dunsany said, "It is seldom that the same man knows much of science, and about the things that were known before science." That has been my experience, and I think there is a reason for it. You can blame it on the Darwinians, and their assumption that life is always evolving into higher, more complex forms, so that what is now is better and more sophisticated than what was before. That was brought home to me when our children pointed out to me, "This is the 80s." They said that back in the decade in ...

4754. Swept Away!

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It's the same year after year. On this most somnolent of American weekends when it takes three days to recover from one day of gluttony, this lazy weekend when some people sleep in for four days in a row - it is this Sunday that the church decides to defy the culture and catapult us into a new year - smacking us first with judgment and then with demand. It is this weekend that the liturgical calendar tells us to "Wake Up!" Life as we know it will eventually end. Get up! The world as we experience it will ...

4755. Be Ready!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

King Duncan

Mr. Smith is riding through Manhattan with a reckless cab driver. At the first intersection they come to, the cab driver runs a red light. “Hey, what’s the big idea?” Mr. Smith yells. “That was a red light!” “Don’t worry, fella,” the cabbie replies, “My brother drives a cab too, and he does that all the time.” Mr. Smith grits his teeth and tries to remain calm, but he loses his cool when the driver runs a second red light. “Are you insane? You’re just asking for trouble,” he yells. “I know what I’m doing, ...

4756. Dare to Be Different, Not Just Better

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This sermon needs popcorn and popcorn smells. You may want to distribute little bags of popcorn with the bulletins. Or during the sermon you may want to have someone making popcorn so that the smell can percolate through the sanctuary. But in some way, your parishioners need to have a popcorn experience to go along with the sermon. Maybe even give each person an uncooked popcorn kernel so that the contrast between one that has undergone fire and one that hasn't can be felt and tasted.] The New Year always ...

4757. Maker's Mark

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It was a typical off-island family outing. A trip to the mall, a stop at a fast-food restaurant: then pick up some pet food at the farm-supply store, and finally an appointment at the tattoo and piercing parlor. WHAT?! Yes, that was the family-day itinerary of one young family we know here on our little island. The mom and daughter both decided to get an eyebrow ring together. The dad got a new tattoo on his shoulder. For them it was a fun way to share time together and enjoy common interests as a family. ...

4758. Proper 7

Psalm 86:1-17, Romans 6:1-14, Matthew 10:1-42, Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson of Hagar's salvation in the wilderness follows immediately upon the story of Sarah's miraculous birth that was the lesson for last week. Thus Genesis 21:8-21 provides a second story of salvation, but the context for understanding salvation shifts somewhat from last week. Instead of a miracle story to underscore how anything is possible for God—as was the case with Sarah—salvation this week is Hagar's liberation from oppression. An examination first of the ...

4759. When We Are Caught in a Storm

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

James W. Moore

A man once came to a farmer and asked to be taken on as a hired hand. “What can you do?” the farmer asked him. The man replied: “I can sleep when the wind blows.” The farmer thought that was a strange answer, but he needed a worker so he hired him. Soon after, the farmer went away on a trip. A couple of weeks later, the farmer returned home one night and went to bed. But, a storm came up. Winds were blowing and lashing. The farmer woke and heard the winds and he remembered – the broken barn door – the weak ...

4760. Just the Right Touch

Mark 5:25-34

Sermon

James Merritt

The fifth chapter of the gospel of Mark is a menu of miracles. There are three miracles in this chapter, each of which illustrate the authority and the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first miracle, a man comes to Jesus bound in chains, bleeding from cuts, controlled by demonic forces. Jesus cast out these demons. He frees this man from the hounds of hell that have hunted him and haunted him, and changes him from a child of the devil to a child of God. Then Jesus encounters a woman with a ...

4761. The Fellowship of Joy

Philippians 1:3-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Ten years: a decade, 520 weeks, 3,652 days, 87,600 hours. A lot can change in ten years: less hair, more weight, deeper wrinkles. As I stand here this day, ten years to the day when I became pastor of this church, my mind is literally boggled at where I am today, and where we are today, and the journey we have made together over the last ten years. As I struggled to discern the message I should bring this Sunday, I had several different texts and thrusts dancing in my head, when sitting at the Executive ...

4762. When Satan Comes Out of the Closet

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

What does 1874, 1878, 1881, 1910, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, and 1984 have in common? Well, these are the years that a certain religious group have prophesied as the year that the world would come to an end.[1] Let me ask another question. What do Napoleon, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Adolph Hitler, and Ronald Reagan have in common? They have all been identified by some religious group as the Antichrist.[2] (In case you are wondering how Ronald Reagan got in there, his full name is Ronald Wilson Reagan; ...

4763. Better To Be a Loner than a Loser

Daniel 1:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Cassie Bernall. With one word this teenage girl became a household name and a part of God's Hall of Fame. On April 20, around 11:30AM, two gun-wielding teenagers at Columbine High School confronted her, and with guns raised, one of them asked her this question: "Do you believe in God?" After a momentary pause, she looked him squarely in the eye and said, "Yes." After he replied simply, "Why?" he shot her and killed her instantly. But at that one moment, with that one word, Cassie Bernall illustrated a ...

4764. Gentle On My Mind (Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

I don't know of anyone that disputes the fact that John Wooden is the greatest basketball coach who has ever lived. His UCLA basketball teams won ten NCAA National Championships in twelve years, including seven in a row. In his book entitled Wooden, he begins with this story: My Dad, Joshua Wooden, was a strong man in one sense, but a gentle man. While he could lift heavy things men half his age couldn't lift, he would also read poetry to us each night after a day working in the fields raising corn, hay, ...

4765. Dirty Dreams and Slick Schemers

Jude 1:8-11

Sermon

James Merritt

I'm sure all of us have had dreams that are extremely strange. I have found that dreams basically fall into three categories. Some dreams can be very delightful. The next time you ladies look at your sewing machine you might remember that it was the result of a dream. As Elias Howe was working on the development of the first sewing machine, he had one problem. He could not see in his mind where to locate the eye of the needle. He was running out of money and about to shut down his invention, when one night ...

4766. Who's In Charge Here

Judges 21:24-25

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to juxtapose two quotes to you: one you will not be familiar with; one you will be very familiar with. Here is the first quote, given by historian Christopher Dawson, over thirty years ago: We have entered a new phase of culture we may call it the Age of the Cinema in which the most amazing perfection of scientific technique is being devoted to purely ephemeral objects, without any consideration of their ultimate justification. It seems as though a new society [is] arising, which will acknowledge no ...

4767. Manual Labor Is Not the President of Mexico

Proverbs 6:6-8

Sermon

James Merritt

"It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?" Ronald Reagan1 Two teenagers were talking, and one said to another, "I'm really worried. Dad slaves away at his job so I will never want for anything, pays all of my bills and sends me to college. Mom spends every day washing and ironing and cleaning up after me, and even takes care of me when I am sick." "So, what are you worried about?" He said, "I'm afraid they might try to escape!" That story reflects my belief that ...

4768. Faithful Fathers Fortify Families

Deuteronomy 6:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

Malachi 4:6 is the last verse in Malachi. Now that is significant because Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi 4:6 is the last verse in the last chapter of the last book in the Old Testament. Now all of that is interesting because when Malachi put his quill down, for 400 years God was absolutely silent. He gave no further revelation; for four centuries not one word. Now think about it. If you were God and you were not going to speak for 400 years before your son came into world; before ...

4769. Stop Fuming, Start Forgiving!

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The late Bishop Lance Webb used to tell a story about a little five-year-old boy who misbehaved. His mother decided to give him some quiet time. She had a large closet. So, she pushed back the hangers in the closet so there would be room for his chair. She turned on the light and told him he would have to stay in the closet for 30 minutes. She heard strange sounds inside the closet and then everything got quiet. The mother was curious, so she opened the door. “Jimmy, “she asked, “what on earth are you ...

4770. Worship and Wonder

John 1:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It seems my little jaunt into English grammar, and especially the proper placement of prepositions, produced more response than almost anything I have written in Steeple Notes. I suppose that, in itself, is amazing. Several of you sent me Winston Churchill's famous quotation: "This is a situation with which I will not put up." But the best one came from a couple of my Wednesday morning Arbon Dennis buddies. It's the story of the little girl, already in bed, who berated her father when he came to read to ...

4771. Lost in Wonder, Love and Praise

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John E. Harnish

4772. Gifts: Standing on the Promises

Malachi 4:10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

4773. Gathered In, Sent Out

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish