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 4876 to 4900 of 4944 results

4876. Emmanuel: An Advent Dayenu

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Mark Radecke

In the Jewish tradition there is a liturgy and accompanying song called "Dayenu." Dayenu is a Hebrew word which can be translated several ways. It can mean: "It would have been enough," or "we would have been grateful and content," or "our need would have been satisfied." Part of the Dayenu is a responsive reading that goes like this: O God, if thy only act of kindness was to deliver us from the bondage of Egypt, Dayenu! It would have been enough. If thy only act of deliverance was to divide the Red Sea ...

4877. Details

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

It's probably not a good idea to speed-read the Bible. You might get the overall story and you might even improve your comprehension but you would be likely to miss the little details. And in our passage today from Matthew 9-10 the details are at least as important as the story of the events themselves -- and the details may be more interesting. The story has to do with Jesus seeing all the people in need of God's blessings and commissioning the twelve disciples to do something about it. All the disciples ...

4878. I Saw The Risen Christ Last Week -- And It Wasn't Even Easter

John 20:10-31

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

A small boy went to his father one day and asked, "Daddy, who's the smartest, an engineer or a preacher?" The father, unsure of an answer, asked his son, "Well, who do you think is the smartest?" "I think an engineer is because he can build bridges and planes, and go into space to find planets. And a preacher talks about such an impossible thing as someone rising from the dead." He was a smart little boy with an honest answer. And we can understand his answer because we live in a world of facts and science ...

4879. Lent 5

John 12:20-36

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

Liturgical Color: Purple Theme: Jesus Predicts His Death: The Kernel Must Die Before the Wheat is Born. COMMUNITY GATHERS Pastoral Invitation In the name of the one who soon will die, welcome, as we approach the conclusion of Lent. How goes your Lenten observance? What are you learning? What new decisions are you making? Where do you see your life changing? Have you begun to see the reason for Jesus' death, and indeed, death to your old ways? We will experience no Easter without first experiencing Good ...

4880. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 10:35-45

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

THE COMMUNITY GATHERS TO CELEBRATE Pastoral and Congregational Invitation (Pastor and Ministers) In the name of God who is power, who is energy, welcome to this celebration of Good News. Are you willing to hear the Good News, even though you may not like it? (Pause.) Will you be willing to respond to the Good News, even if God disturbs your comfort level? (Pause.) P: When we listen to God without our preconceived notions of what we hope God will say to us, God's Spirit will surprise us, maybe even scare us ...

4881. Advent 3

Luke 13:1-9, Exodus 3:1-22, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 55:1-9 Yahweh will have mercy on all sinners who come to him. This lection is in the last chapter of Deutero-Isaiah. It is a fitting and beautiful invitation to the Exiles in Babylon to return to Yahweh. If they return, they will receive the mercy of forgiveness. Lesson 1: Exodus 3:1-15 Moses is called to deliver God's people from bondage in Egypt. While tending his father-in-law's sheep, Moses is called by Yahweh to return to Egypt to lead out his oppressed people. First Yahweh ...

4882. Maundy Thursday

Lk 22:14-30 · Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35 · 1 Cor 11:17-32 · Ex 12:1-14 · Ps 116

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 The passover marked the beginning of a new era for the Israelites. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (v. 2). The people are ordered to set aside a flawless lamb to be slaughtered, roasted and eaten on the 14th day of the month. Everyone was to be part of the feast. The meal was to be eaten in haste because God was on the move. The people are to be ready to leave as soon as the Lord breaks the bars of slavery. The blood is to be placed on their ...

4883. Those Who Mourn

Sermon

John A. Terry

Isaiah 40:1-5Matthew 5:1-12 I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting ...

4884. Easter 7

John 17:6-19, John 17:1-5

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes This so-called "high priestly prayer" serves as Jesus' retrospective dedication of his career, his request to be restored to his former (i.e., primordial) glory, and his blessing upon the disciples who will be left "in the world" after his death and again after his ascension. Verses 2 and 3 make explicit what has been the implicit purpose in Jesus' ministry all along, namely, to give eternal life, which here is equated with knowledge of God and the Christ. Liturgical Color White Suggested ...

4885. Those Who Mourn

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John A. Terry

I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting stuck in any one of the first ...

4886. A Sleeping Bag God

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

This is definitely not a text a minister should use if her congregation is thinking of building a new church structure or adding to an existing one. King David, well-meaning to be sure, develops pangs of conscience because he is living in his “house built of cedar” and thinks to do better by God. “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant Box is kept in a tent!” (2 Samuel 7:2 TEV) So David determines to build God a temple, and initially with the prophet, Nathan’s, blessing. Misreading ...

4887. The Dream For Wisdom

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

In three swift verses, the succession is accomplished, finally. And David sleeps with his fathers and is buried in the city of David. Our prayer for David, companion in these past weeks, is that David sleeps, at last, in peace. For in those last years, David is so advanced in years, so old, that he cannot get warm. They cover him with clothes, but he does not get warm. They bring him a young maiden to lie beside him, but he does not get warm. I imagine David shivers in the knowledge of all that his life ...

4888. Always Rising

John 6:25-59

Children's Sermon

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT HOME Parents: Begin this week with a discussion of the Gospel lesson. Explain to your child that just as bread spoils, we "spoil" too when we get old or die without God. Reassure him that with God, who constantly renews us, we will never spoil. You can reinforce this lesson for years to come with a little patience and a good sour dough recipe. (There are any number of variations, but the basic recipe calls for flour, water, yeast, and a warm place for the yeast to ...

4889. Managing Disappointment

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

Paul wrote to the Romans, "Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:4-5) Of this we can be sure, even though we feel that God has also forgotten us, he hasn't. Some things are not fully understood until we have felt entirely bereft of all comfort. Disappointment may give us the feeling that no one loves us anymore, and that there is no one who ...

4890. Advent 1

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31, Psalm 80:1-19

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Wait expectantly for our Lord Jesus Christ to reveal himself. He will keep you firm to the end, without reproach on the Day of our Lord Jesus. It is God in person, who called you to share in the life of the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and God keeps faith. Prayer of Confession God of many names, by what name shall we call you? Our question rises out of some confusion, not only about who you are, but about who we are, for you have declared yourself to be our kin, One who has ransomed us. In ...

4891. Sandwiches

Matthew 25:18

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: Two slices of bread and a variety of sandwich bags and wrap. This morning we are going to discuss sandwiches. I would guess a lot of you eat sandwiches for lunch most days of the week. What are your favorite kinds of sandwiches? (Allow time for answers.) How many of you like the crust on or off your sandwiches? What about the heel on the loaf of bread? Do you like that or not? And how many like white bread or dark bread? There are a lot of decisions to be made about sandwiches, aren't there? Once ...

4892. Bristle Unity

Ephesians 4:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A toothbrush and the bristles of a toothbrush. Lesson: eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever noticed how important it is to keep certain things together? Sometimes it is hard to keep a number of things together, but if you don't you only have trouble. When everything that is supposed to be together is working together we call that unity. Unity is good, and we need more of it. Let me show you what I mean. The other morning I ...

4893. A Woman's Place

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Erskine White

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him. (Genesis 2:18) Ask a chauvinist where a woman's place is and he or she will say, "A woman's place is in the home," or, "A woman's place is subordinate to the man's." Ask a feminist where a woman's place is and she or he will say, "A woman's place is wherever she chooses to be," or, "A woman's place is anywhere a man's place is." Ask a chauvinist and a feminist what the Bible says about a woman's place and chances are that ...

4894. A Letter From Paul

Sermon

Erskine White

So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) The sermon which follows is an imaginary letter received from the apostle Paul, written to the church in America. It seeks to put a much-loved and all-too-familiar text into a new (though thoroughly Biblical) context. If the language of this letter falls short of the inspiration and glory of the original, please blame the preacher who stands before you and not the apostle in whose name he writes. The letter ...

4895. Good Soldiers, Bad Wars

Joshua 11:1-23, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Erskine White

It has become commonplace for the church to talk about peace in recent years; indeed, dozens of church statements have been issued for the purpose of condemning war. And this is entirely appropriate, since Christ has charged His people to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) in a world which is weary of war. But amid all the verbiage of ecclesiastical pronouncements, the church has been nearly silent about soldiers! It's as if we have nothing to say to the people who risk and give their lives. The soldiers seem ...

4896. Breaking Down Walls

Ephesians 2:14

Children's Sermon

Object: a brick and a picture of the Great Wall of China Good morning, boys and girls. I brought something to build with today. What is it? (Let them respond.) You're right, it's a brick. What can we build with bricks? (Let them respond. They may name some of the following things.) You can build houses, basements, towers, patios, garages, churches, forts and schools with bricks. Did you know that a long time ago, people used to build fences of bricks or stones to separate their land? One person's land went ...

4897. Proper 11

Colossians 1:15-23, Luke 10:38-42, Genesis 18:16-33, Colossians 1:24--2:5, Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year used in this cycle, this Sun-day could very well fall near August 6. Liturgical "old-timers" in some churches will remember that August 6 is, or was, the date for celebrating the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The Book of Common Prayer continues a practice formerly followed by Lutheran books of worship: Namely, that the Transfiguration is observed on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany by the use of the readings for the ...

4898. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

Liturgical Color: Blue/Purple Theme: Announcement - You're the one, Mary! You're the ones, church! Invitation to Worship One pastor began this way: We're getting closer. We keep hearing the announcement, usually somewhat ahead of schedule; for, by now, the mass media has announced Jesus' birth billions of times. However, in the midst of the Christmas confusion and busyness, there are two attitudes toward any form of faith - either, the duty of performance, or, the joy of being. Which do you experience ...

4899. Fatal Subtraction

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Today I want to revisit a sermon preached some years ago titled "Fatal Subtractibn." Based on the Acts 4 and 5 scriptures of Ananias and Sapphira, it centers on the story of a husband and wife who took away things from their lives and ended up dead. Theirs was a fatal subtraction because they subtracted where they were supposed to add and added where they were supposed to subtract. It is clear they had not mastered the basic principles of Christian arithmetic and died because they held back a vital portion ...

4900. Led By The Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Decisions, decisions. Life is full of decisions. In fact, a number of philosophers and psychologists tell us that the decisions we make (or our behavior) largely make us who we are. Life is nothing but decisions. How do we make them in a Christian manner? We Christians believe that by his resurrection on Easter, Christ has given us new life (1 Peter 1:3). You have been given a new life! Now that we have that new life, how does it affect the way in which we make decisions? At least two of our Bible lessons ...

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