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 4926 to 4950 of 4977 results

4926. Discipleship: Backward or Forward to God

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... back, we discover the people we once knew in a certain way have changed. Life is process for them too. And we have changed. Our hope of relocating precisely the feeling, mood, and happiness of a past event is a disappointed hope. Things do not come together quite as we had planned. One time we were taking our children back to our home in Minneapolis in the suburb of Edina. We had moved away when they were relatively young and returned for a look some years later. Imagine our surprise when we discovered the ...

4927. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... symbolized his universal mission to all the nations — Gentiles and Samaritans included. All the outsiders were now invited to be insiders. Delegation is difficult for gifted, energetic people like Moses and Jesus because they fear no one can do the job quite as well as they. And they probably are right. Yet, without delegation even the most talented and energetic leaders will burn out or wear out or both. Besides, delegation by gifted, talented, energetic people to other gifted, talented, spirited people ...

4928. Mighty Morphin Power People

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... A news report sometime back detailed the search of a unique group of people to find their identity. This was a report about the so-called test tube babies of the 1980’s. They are all grown now, and, according to this report, some of them are quite unhappy. On a television talk show some of those young people were interviewed. These test-tube babies were children who were conceived by a mother and an anonymous donor. They had no knowledge of their biological father, and it had robbed them of their sense of ...

4929. The Happy Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-4, 5-6, 16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... re not Jesus. We’re sinners. That is part of what the ashes on our forehead will mean this evening. We’re sinners saved by grace. There is only one hope for us. In the words of St. Paul, it is to put on Christ. That is, to quit trying to live righteously by our own power, but to surrender ourselves to Christ’s Spirit and to let him live through us. Author Frederick Buechner tells a story by Max Beerbohm, a British writer and cartoonist, titled “The Happy Hypocrite.” The story is about a despicable ...

4930. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... it up. Until . . . the money ran out . . . and all the fun ended. The younger son had spent all that he had and then there was a recession and jobs for people under 30 dropped off the radar and he was forced to move back home. No, it doesn’t read quite like that, but you get the idea. Things were a little more desperate back then. There was a famine in the land and with no money, literally, he could have starved to death. But he got a job feeding pigs. To us today, that may not seem as a big ...

4931. A Complicated Disciple

John 18:15-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... with a family. His family depended on his success in casting his net as a fisherman, but he and Andrew both dropped their nets instantly when Jesus called them. Two things stand out in this scene. The first is obvious: there was something quite compelling about Jesus for them to make such a sudden and life-changing response when Jesus challenged them to join him in “catching men.” Secondly, we see the decisiveness of Peter and Andrew. There was no hesitation. Peter, particularly, had no idea where ...

4932. Babies Wanted

Illustration

Michael P. Green

We live in a time of social decay, expansion of evil in the world, and worsening trends. Have we therefore reached a point where we should call it quits on having a family? No, absolutely not! Remember history’s lessons. Pharaoh was throwing Hebrew babies into the Nile River when Moses was born. The finest of Israel’s youth were led into captivity to serve a pagan and evil empire in Daniel’s day. Herod was murdering male children ...

4933. The Garrison Church

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A generation ago, Dr. F. B. Meyer said this about the local church: “It is urgently needful that the Christian people of our charge should come to understand that they are not a company of invalids, to be wheeled about, or fed by hand, cosseted, nursed, and comforted, the minister being the Head Physician and Nurse; but a garrison in an enemy’s country, every soldier of which should have some post or duty, at which he should be prepared to make any sacrifice rather than quitting.”

4934. Crying To The Night

Illustration

... is there to make life tolerable? We stand on the shore of an ocean, crying to the night and the emptiness; sometimes a voice answers out of the darkness. But it is the voice of one drowning; and in a moment the silence returns. The world seems to me quite dreadful; the unhappiness of many people is very great, and I often wonder how they all endure it. To know people well is to know their tragedy: it is usually the central thing about which their lives are built. And I suppose if they did not live most of ...

4935. An Epidemic Among Two-Year-Olds

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The two-year-old, normally a quite obedient little boy, was having an attack of stubbornness—a disease endemic to the species. Still, it was surprising to see such a severe case in one of such tender years. His mother had asked the lad to do something, but he was much too absorbed in his own activities ...

4936. The Devil's Most Useful Tool

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... sale, his tools were placed for public inspection, each being marked with its sale price. There were a treacherous lot of implements: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, lust, lying, pride, and so on. Set apart from the rest was a harmless-looking tool. It was quite worn and yet priced very high. “What is the name of this tool?” asked one of the customers, pointing to it. “That is discouragement,” Satan replied. “Why have you priced it so high?” “Because it is more useful to me than the others. I ...

4937. Tainted Treasure

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... , and so in a couple of weeks the entire colony starves to death. How ironic! Food that looked so good caused their starvation. That is how it is with false doctrine. Those who lack discernment import it into the heart of the church, thinking it is harmless and in fact quite good. If any wise “ant” smells the poison and protests, he is ridiculed! And in the end the next generation starves to death spiritually.

4938. What Did You Expect?

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

A family sat down at the dinner table following church one Sunday. “The sermon was boring today,” said the teenage son. “Yeah, could you believe how the pastor stumbled over the reading of the Scripture?” his sister chimed in. “I’ve got to admit it was an uninspiring day,” said Mother. “The choir was terrible.” Finally, father, showing his leadership, said, “Hush, you guys. Quit complaining. What did you expect for a quarter?”

4939. Cure of Cirrhosis of the Giver

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

... cure, is to get the individual’s heart right with God. This affliction is actually a symptom of a more basic need of the soul. Prescribed Medication: Frequent doses of Romans 12:1 and Luke 9:23, accompanied by a dash of 2 Corinthians 9:7. This dosage will become quite pleasant if swallowed with a heaping tablespoon of Philippians 4:19!

4940. The Unbaptized Arm

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Staff

... the Soviet Union. As a fighting man he was courageous. As a general he was brilliant. He drove out the Tartars and established peace across the nation. However, Ivan was so busy waging his campaigns that he did not have a family. His friends and advisers were quite concerned. “You must take a wife who can bear you a son. Otherwise there will be no heir.” Ivan said did not have the time to search for a bride, but if they would find a suitable one, he would marry her. The counselors and advisers searched ...

4941. God's Knowability

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... all could understand.” Aristotle spoke of God as the supreme cause, by all men dreamed of and by no man known. The ancient world did not doubt that there was a God or gods, but it believed that such gods as there might be were quite unknowable and only occasionally interested in mankind. In a world without Christ, God was a mystery and power, desirable but never known. Note: The exact quote from Plato is, "Now to discover the Maker and Father of this Universe were a task indeed; and having discovered ...

4942. Grandpa's Listening

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

... story is told of an elderly grandfather who was very wealthy. Because he was going deaf, he decided to buy a hearing aid. Two weeks later he stopped at the store where he had bought it and told the manager he could now pick up conversation quite easily, even in the next room. “Your relatives must be happy to know that you can hear so much better,” beamed the delighted proprietor. “Oh, I haven’t told them yet,” the man chuckled. “I’ve just been sitting around listening—and you know what? I ...

4943. A Familiar Voice

John 10:4

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... his own peculiar call, which he used each day to gather his sheep to him. The sheep heard the familiar sound. For a moment they listened and then, hearing it again, they turned and rushed down one side of the ravine and up the other toward their shepherd. It was quite impossible for the soldiers to stop the animals. The shepherd was away with them to a place of safety before the soldiers could make up their minds to pursue them—and all because his sheep knew their master’s voice.

4944. How Much Margarine?

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

A department-store clerk was demonstrating the efficiency of a window-cleaning device by smearing margarine on glass and cleaning it off again. Quite impressed, one potential customer asked, “How much margarine do I have to use?”

4945. Lost In Disneyland

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A young boy about seven years old went to Disneyland with his family, but in the excitement of going on all the rides, he was separated from them. He was having such a wonderful time that it was quite a while before he realized that he was lost. When he discovered the predicament he was in, he at first figured that he could find his way back to his family. But, after a time, it finally hit him that he didn’t know where he was going or how ...

Man’s unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an infinite in him which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the finite.

Thomas Carlyle

4947. It's Just A Ribbon

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A little girl’s first-grade class held its “track and field” day. She won quite a few ribbons, among them one blue ribbon for a first place. Later that day, when she came home, the blue ribbon was missing, and her mother asked what had happened to it. “Oh,” she said, “Bruce was crying because he didn’t win a first place ribbon, so I ...

4948. The Tree's Trials

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... as a lumberjack occasionally jabbed his sharp hook into a log to separate it from the others floating down a mountain stream. When asked why he did this, the logger replied, “These may all look alike to you, but I can recognize that a few of them are quite different. The ones I let pass are from trees that grew in a valley where they were always protected from the storms. Their grain is rather coarse. The ones I have hooked and kept apart came from high on the mountains. From the time they were small they ...

4949. The Trouble Tree

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A carpenter hired to help restore an old farmhouse had just finished up a rough first day on the job. A flat tire had made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup refused to start. As he rode home with a friend, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, as he walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Then, opening the door, he ...

4950. Urim and Thummim

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... the prideful young theologian heard about him, he said, “I’d like to meet that man. I think I could ask him a question or two that he couldn’t answer!” So a meeting was arranged. The first thing the young man said was, “Sir, I hear that you have quite a reputation as a Bible student. I’d like to ask you a question.” The old man said, “Well, I don’t know if I can answer it, but I’d be glad to try. What is your question?” The young man said, “Tell me, what were the Urim and ...

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Showing 4926 to 4950 of 4977 results

4926. Discipleship: Backward or Forward to God

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

4927. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

4928. Mighty Morphin Power People

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

4929. The Happy Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-4, 5-6, 16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

4930. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

4931. A Complicated Disciple

John 18:15-27

Sermon

King Duncan

4932. Babies Wanted

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4933. The Garrison Church

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4934. Crying To The Night

Illustration

4935. An Epidemic Among Two-Year-Olds

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4936. The Devil's Most Useful Tool

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4937. Tainted Treasure

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4938. What Did You Expect?

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

4939. Cure of Cirrhosis of the Giver

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

4940. The Unbaptized Arm

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Staff

4941. God's Knowability

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4942. Grandpa's Listening

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

4943. A Familiar Voice

John 10:4

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4944. How Much Margarine?

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

4945. Lost In Disneyland

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Man’s unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an infinite in him which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the finite.

Thomas Carlyle

4947. It's Just A Ribbon

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4948. The Tree's Trials

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4949. The Trouble Tree

Illustration

Michael P. Green

4950. Urim and Thummim

Illustration

Michael P. Green

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