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 4977 results

4751. Epiphany 7

Genesis 45:3-11, 15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, Luke 6:27-36, 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-50

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: Greetings! The year is not quite so new. But we’re glad for the breath of life and for the opportunity to gather in this place. People: We enjoy being together and we anticipate hearing God and responding with music, silence, and words. Leader: Here we learn the teachings of Jesus, and we can practice them ...

4752. Epiphany

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12, Ephesians 3:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: I’m so glad we’re here together! Today’s the day we want to be wise and know just where to locate God. People: This is Epiphany, the day when we are magi and bring our best gifts to God. Leader: God quite clearly is here — People: in each of us! Leader: We have hopes that when the stars shine just right, we will find the baby who grows up to be our teacher and guide. People: We will search like the ancient men and women until we find some tangible evidence of ...

4753. Proper 14

Psalm 33:12-22, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Luke 12:32-40, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... and its health. Work wisdom in us so that we problem-solve for the earth’s harmony and the universe’s welfare. Let the seasons come and go to bless all creatures. Creating Spirit — we think of our ancestors whose understanding of the Bible was quite literal and their faith was not dependent upon logic or scientific data. As we learn more about how the intricate systems of the human body and the universe work, help us integrate what we learn with what we experience as Divine Presence. We imagine that ...

4754. Someone Bigger than Phil

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... came taxes and the worries of it took away my dad’s hair and with that the old hair brush disappeared. And that’s why kids today are running wild: the old man has run out of weapons!” Some of you may have had parents who were quite harsh in their methods of discipline. Thankfully, parents have, for the most part, changed . . . For most of us, the image of “father” is one of kindness and accessibility. Not for all, unfortunately, but for most. And that is the image that the writer of Hebrews wants ...

4755. Open the Window, Aunt Minnie, Here It Comes!

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... When people are excited about their faith, they spread that excitement to others. Are you excited? Do you have the same excitement as that little boy when he shouted, “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Jesus is born! Jesus is born! Let’s get going!” Maybe you’re not quite that excited. At least maybe you will be just as determined to spread the good news of Christ as the two young girls who lifted up Christ after the storm swept through their town so that everyone could see their Savior. God always keeps His ...

4756. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... before he came to Mary to announce her son’s coming. Elizabeth’s son was not divinely conceived any more than you and I were, but his birth was still significant. He would be the forerunner of the Messiah. We know him as John the Baptist. Elizabeth and Mary were quite a pair. As Dr. M. Craig Barnes has noted, “One of them is too old to be a mother and the other is too young. But both are in the hands of God.” In that culture and at that time and place, it normally would have been appropriate for ...

4757. Friendship

Proverbs 31:1-9

Drama

Julia Ross Strope

... friend, maybe a partner. Reader 2: What kind of friend or partner are you looking for — an extrovert? Rich? Assertive? Educated? Reader 3: (to Reader 2) Aren’t you being a bit personal? Reader 2: Yes. When I look for a friend there are some qualities I am quite sure about. Reader 1: For example? Reader 2: I want friends who are loyal and self-reliant. Reader 3: Oh, so you make a list of “friendship traits”? Reader 2: There are all kinds of lists.... Reader 1: I like to be with people who are aware ...

4758. Acts of God?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

... It was a strong reminder of the suffering the Jews endured under Rome. Pilate sent a political and religious message by slaying a group of men who were more likely than not, innocent. Now the Galilean territory may have done something that set Pilate off but these men quite likely had nothing to do with it. They were…convenient. In the wrong place at the right time. On 9/11, four years ago today, a group of Muslim men chose an innocent group of people to target, in order to send a political and religious ...

4759. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to live a life of holiness, patterned on the life of Jesus, Paul presents us with basic qualities that we must weave into the fabric of our own life. He says we must be people of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and to bear with one another. Quite obviously, especially in our fast-paced and self-autonomous society, these are lofty and possibly utopian goals. Yet, if we seek to be holy and follow in the footsteps of Christ, we must do our best to not back away from the challenge that these ...

4760. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

4761. Responsibility Comes with Privilege

Acts 8:4-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . Additionally, we fall victim to apathy, indifferentism, laziness, and even a sense of fatalism. We say, "Why should I get involved? Things will be the same with or without my effort." It is easy to take this road because it is well-traveled and quite popular, but for the Christian it is a dead-end street. We must accept the reality that responsibility is part and parcel of our lives as baptized Christians. All great privileges bring with them a sense of responsibility. We readily and with great joy ...

4762. Strength through Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Recently on a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, a middle-aged and apparently quite wealthy South African woman found herself sitting next to a black man. As the passengers were filing in and taking their seats she called a member of the cabin crew to ask about her seating. "What seems to be the matter, madam?" asked the attendant. "Can't you see?" the ...

4763. Love - The Basic Christian Call

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... answers and results. We are all impatient, especially when we have no control over responses or results. Paul suggests if we truly love we will demonstrate patience. Next, he says love is kind. Often impatience leads to a very unkind attitude; we become angry quite readily. The way we approach people and situations is too often far less than kind. We are adversarial; we are right and others are wrong. We somehow believe if we are too kind we demonstrate weakness and others will take advantage of us. Yet ...

4764. The Great Sacrifice of Love

Luke 9:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... fundamental lesson in life. Freely refusing to have some item, a new piece of clothing, the newest CD or DVD, some special food, and seeing in such action a solidarity with those who have little or none is certainly an act of sacrificial love. Children quite naturally form their own group of playmates, those with whom they desire "to hang," but sacrificial love means they need to be open to others. Many "outsiders" may wish to be part of the group, but because an invitation is never extended they can never ...

4765. Raised to New Life Today

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... find our proper road to God are given to us at certain special moments in life; they don't come every day! Thus, when the Lord provides the opportunity, we must be open and ready to respond. We must be attuned to the Lord's call since it is generally quite subtle. We must listen well. Remember the call of the great prophet Samuel. When he was just a boy, God called him twice, but he nor his mentor, Eli, recognized the Lord's call. Finally, when the Lord called a third time, Eli perceived it was God's call ...

4766. Formula for Eternal Life

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... respond so as to build our résumé for eternal life. Our very comfortable first-world, twenty-first-century American existence presents a challenge to Christians. We live in the here and now; we seldom think about our future or eternal existence with God. Therefore, quite naturally we spend a lot of time, energy, and effort in building our resume for life. Yet, when we observe the simplicity of one like George who lives not for today but for his future existence with God, we are reminded of what is truly ...

4767. Don’t Compromise Your Beliefs

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... various state legislatures, was at the forefront of the women's suffrage issue that culminated in the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution, and was active in the temperance movement and fought for prohibition. The final episode of his life quite possibly will be the one most remembered. In the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, Bryan was counsel for the prosecution, defending the fundamentalist Protestant cause against the teaching of evolution. Clarence Darrow, the famous lawyer, was John ...

4768. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... received so much respect and goodwill, how much more respect and goodwill would be received if he truly was a holy man. So the fisherman who was truly a thief turned in his net and became a true man of God. It might have been quite by accident, but the fisherman experienced conversion in his life. He was transformed from a thief into a holy man through the action of others. The love, respect, and deference demonstrated toward him changed his heart. He realized he had been deluding himself to think others ...

4769. Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... foods, to practice our ethnic customs, to sing our ethnic songs, and to speak the foreign language of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We live "in" the world but are never "of" the world. When we leave this place, we will always be out of step. We will never quite shed our strange customs and practices. We can live with less. We can say "No" to conspicuous consumption. We don't need to hoard but can give ourselves away in lives of service to those with less. We welcome the stranger. We do what is right and ...

4770. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... fate. He felt no need to parade his trophies and ribbons for all to see and demand better treatment. What many of us would cling to at any cost, Paul simply dismissed as worthless, only so much garbage. In fact, the Greek word he used is quite a bit more graphic than that. Skibulla is the Greek word for "excrement." You can substitute in your own mind our popular four-letter equivalents that all too frequently pollute speech today. In other words, Paul minces no words when it comes to jettisoning the things ...

4771. The Blood of The Lamb and The Voice of The Shepherd

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not put one foot in the fold without causing total confusion and chaos. Sheep seem to consider shepherds part of the family and the relationship that exists between the shepherd and his sheep is quite exclusive. They develop a language of their own to which outsiders are not privy. A good shepherd learns to distinguish a bleat of pain from one of pleasure, while the sheep learn that a cluck of the tongue means food or a two-note song means ...

4772. A Glimpse of Glory

Revelation 21:10-22 - 22:5

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... , the last book of the Bible, reports a grand and glorious vision of heaven. It is written in the code language that fills the book of Revelation. Contrary to those who try to turn the book of Revelation into some secret prediction of the future, it quite simply is a word of comfort to persecuted Christians in the first century. It was written in the code language of apocalyptic because Christians at the end of the first century were being put to death for their faith. They used the code language of ...

4773. Freedom Calling

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... it, we can't buy it at any price, it is ours to receive with faith and gladness. Yet the other side of the oxymoron reminds us that this free gift for us came only at a very high price. In this letter to the Galatians, Paul is quite clear that Jesus' suffering and death on the cross were critical in securing our freedom. Galatians 3:1 reminds his readers: "It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!" Galatians 3:13 adds, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by ...

4774. For All the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... of the word. Now you may or may not know all of the saints in this congregation, let alone all of the saints in a neighboring church, and certainly it's not possible for us to know all of the saints around the world. In the same way, it's quite likely that the writer of Colossians did not know all of the saints he wrote to in the city of Colossae. The first line of the letter identifies the primary letter writer as the apostle Paul. He was well travelled for his day and age and knew many people in ...

4775. Sing Praise

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... is the repetition of the word "first" to describe Jesus as "the firstborn of all creation" (v. 15), "the firstborn from the dead" (v. 18), "first place in everything" (v. 18). In the Bible, the word "firstborn" most often refers to the oldest son in the family, quite literally to the one who was born first. So Esau was the firstborn in his family, born just before his twin brother, Jacob. But there is another sense of the word "firstborn" in the Bible, to describe someone who is in first place, who is the ...

Showing results