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

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4926. Clean Hands and Dirty Hearts

Matthew 15:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone once said that a pun is the lowest form of humor, but sometimes I can't resist. There once was a young man--a Puritan, somewhere around Boston in the 18th century--who had a great deal of difficulty remembering the various rules of conduct in his community. He tried hard, but was constantly being ridiculed because of some breach of etiquette. In desperation, he asked an older man, also a Puritan, to teach him proper manners. The task was formidable, and the older man's patience grew thin, as he had ...

4927. Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

King Duncan

For the past two weeks, we have been looking at the life of Jacob, a man whose name means "one who strives." He was called that because he came out of the womb with his hand grasping his brother Esau's ankle. It was thought that he was seeking to be the first born--because the first-born received a greater portion of the inheritance. We've already seen how Jacob stole his father's blessing, which had been intended for his brother, Esau, and is forced to flee to Haran--the home of his uncle Laban. On the ...

4928. Reverse Direction

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

It's human nature to be excited about meeting a celebrity in person. Whether it's a rock star or a sports legend or an actor or actress or a politician, it is not an everyday occurrence for most of us to come face-to-face with a well-known public figure. This may sound like a confusing introduction to a sermon that is supposed to be about preparing to celebrate Christmas, but it will make sense to you shortly. I want to make one more observation about getting ready for Christmas. The way in which the ...

4929. Heart Transplant

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

Imagine the scene: you are in the doctor's office, an array of EKGs, echocardiograms, and other test results splayed around the room. The doctor's face is grim but resolute. "Your heart is so severely damaged that you will surely die without a transplant. I've placed your name on the waiting list; in a few months, we'll schedule the surgery and when it's over, God willing, you'll be healed. No more gasping for breath when you walk across the room. No shooting pains. You'll be your old self again, only ...

4930. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

A young woman named Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona. She saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little ...

4931. Jesus, Desirous

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

In the powerful movie, Ulee's Gold, Peter Fonda plays a tired man who is a beekeeper by day. He runs the old family business of collecting and selling the golden honey that pays the bills. It is exhausting work for a man now in his late sixties. Ulee does most of it by himself because he cannot afford to hire someone to help him. He maintains and moves the hives, gathers the trays, separates the honey from the wax, spins the final product into jars, and ships it off to market. He worries about the ebb and ...

4932. Run The Race That Is Set Before You

Hebrews 12:1-13

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: Life is a race that is set before us. People: We have received the baton from our father and mother in the faith. Leader: Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus on whom our faith depends from start to finish. People: That will help us not to grow weary and give up the race. Collect Lord, we praise you for those who have set us an example by their faith and trust in you. We find ourselves stumbling and falling in the race of life, and pray that as we gather here today we may be renewed ...

4933. A Mother’s Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Illustration

King Duncan

Augustine's mother, Monica, was a fervent believer who prayed constantly for her son's salvation. She devoted her whole life to praying for Augustine's conversion. At one point, when Augustine was becoming devoted to the Manichaean philosophy, Monica begged a holy man to speak to Augustine, and show him why their beliefs were not true. The holy man refused because Augustine was known to have a great intellect, and would likely try to savage the holy man's arguments. The holy man assured Monica that he, too ...

4934. God Chooses The Poor

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26, Psalm 146:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! All: I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. One: Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. All: When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. One: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, All: who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith ...

4935. The Necessary Book

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Spiritual well-being is the ultimate "necessary" of life. In the not-so-distant past, modest men and polite women might find themselves needing to be excused from the family by pleading a trip to "the necessary," or even "the nessie." A "necessary," of course, was a discreet reference to the outhouse, the outdoor receptacle for the Sears and Roebuck catalog. In earlier days, when the term "necessary" appeared on a road sign, it served as a code-word for travelers, letting them know that the next town was ...

4936. Get a Life!

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When we "Get a Life" in Christ, we get the right kind of a life, and the best kind of life we can get. Anyone have a teenage son or daughter who has recently encouraged you to "get a life"? Those without offspring currently in the "age of cynicism" should be aware that such "loving" advice is usually given along with an incredulous gesture of falling eyes and a shaking head. Most often "get a life" comes as a direct response to such ridiculous parental suggestions as, "Wouldn't it be nice to spend the ...

4937. Easter Completes

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When Easter happens, our "incompletes" turn into "completes." On Easter Sunday, two time-honored rituals rush headlong into each other. In households that are Christian and filled with small children, there is the generational debate about which comes first attending the early "sunrise service" that celebrates the dawn of Jesus' resurrection, or scampering about the house look- ing for celluloid "grass" nests filled with brightly colored eggs and candy treats. Did you ever stop to think how the "secular" ...

4938. Jesus' Bad Manners

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus didn't wait for an invitation. He came and got people, even people who were hiding like Zacchaeus, even people who were lost. Consider this scene that every parent has been confronted with at some time. You are busy in the kitchen getting dinner ready while your child and a neighbor friend are playing out back. Suddenly, two hopeful faces confront you, and you hear, "Mom/Dad, Jamie can stay for dinner can't he? Please, oh please!" Now, really! What are you supposed to do - throw poor, starving, ...

4939. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul spends considerable time in 1 Corinthians on the topic of food. Chapters 8-11 all look at the use and abuse of such a humble human necessity when it provides a symbolic means of dining with the divine. This week's epistle text lies midway through his discussion. In chapter 10 Paul begins by reaching back into Hebrew history to show how the fickle tendencies of the human spirit can undo the exquisite acts of love and deliverance God may perform. Paul spends the first four verses citing some of the most ...

4940. John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

God has planted throughout the Scriptures time-released fireworks. At various periods in the church's history these bombs go off under their texts, exploding for all to see, inviting people of that era to "look at me" and take seriously the Word of God coming alive specially for them right before their eyes. Two books of the Bible exploding under us, and wanting to explode within us (that's what preaching basically is), are the books of John and Genesis. Why John? First, it stands apart from the other ...

4941. Hebrews 13:1-8

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The 13th chapter of Hebrews stands out, and some say stands apart. Whereas the first 12 chapters lay out complex patterns of themes and develop the author's thoughts with creative images, chapter 13 turns suddenly brusque and clipped. So dramatic is this stylistic change that there has been some suggestion that a different author composed this addendum at a different time and place - leaving the church to affix this conclusion at some later date. But while most scholars note this possibility, few actually ...

4942. Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, a season in the church calendar that, in similar fashion to Lent, is a time for spiritual preparations and reparations. It is in this spirit of preparation/reparation that Jesus admonishes his listeners to watch and be ready for the unexpected and unpredictable return of the Messiah. Jesus' immediate concern here, in what stands as one of his final discourses with his disciples, is to prepare them for the tumultuous events about to unfold in Jerusalem. The texts ...

4943. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

4944. John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

Sweet

Leonard Sweet