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 4951 to 4975 of 4986 results

4951. Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead

1 Kings 22:29-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... is after (vv. 31–33). Ahab, however—playing the commoner—is struck down. An arrow shot at random flies unerringly to its divinely ordained target (v. 34)—to a single figure in the vast crowd, to one of the few undefended spots on his body. He stays on the battlefield all day long, perhaps to encourage his troops, but at sunset he dies and the army withdraws leaderless (vv. 35–36, cf. v. 17). The LORD’s deception of Ahab has succeeded; Ahab’s attempted deception of the LORD has failed. It was ...

4952. The Siege Lifted

2 Kings 7:3-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the LORD. 7:3–11 A leper had first brought the Arameans to Samaria during Jehoram’s reign (2 Kgs. 5:1–7), and four men with leprosy (see the additional note on 5:1) now drive them away. Faced with certain death if they go into the city or stay where they are (v. 4), these men instead choose possible death in the camp of the Arameans. They are only four lepers; but seen in the half-light of dusk, with the sound of chariots and horses and a great army in the background (v. 6; cf. 6:17), they ...

4953. Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

2 Kings 8:7-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... as the advocacy on her behalf that Elisha had had in mind in 4:13; and the king takes steps to ensure the return, not only of everything that belonged to her, but also of all the income from her land that she would have received had she stayed in the country. God looks after those who look after his prophets (Matt. 10:40–42). 8:7–15 Elisha first became involved with Aram when an Aramean ventured into Samaria. His dealings with them now come to an end, as he himself ventures into the Aramean capital ...

4954. Jehoram King of Judah

2 Kings 8:16-24

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

4955. Ahaziah King of Judah

2 Kings 8:25-29

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

4956. Jerusalem's Deliverance Foretold

2 Kings 19:1-13

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the city as early as verse 8, as the field commander “hears” (Hb. šmʿ) that Sennacherib has left Lachish and “returns” (Hb. šwḇ; the NIV’s withdrew) to find him, now fighting against Libnah. Nothing comes of this, however. Sennacherib stays firmly rooted in the land, and the “great army” evidently remains outside Jerusalem, under the supreme commander (18:17). A second false dawn follows close behind. The Assyrian king “hears” (Hb. šmʿ) about the advance of Tirhakah, king of Cush ...

4957. Hezekiah's Prayer

2 Kings 19:14-19

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

4958. Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

2 Kings 19:20-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

4959. David's Psalm of Thanks

1 Chronicles 16:7-43

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... found the song to be about them!” (“Song of Asaph,” p. 36). In 16:15 the Chronicler changed the finite verb in Psalm 105:8, “he remembers” (with Yahweh as subject), into a plural imperative. Although the NIV translates it he remembers, to stay in line with Psalm 105:8, the literal translation of the Hebrew would rather be “[you all must] remember.” With this small change the Chronicler created a structural link with 1 Chronicles 16:12, where the same verb is used, also as plural imperative ...

4960. Message to Shemaiah

Jeremiah 29:24-32

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Letters to Babylon and Back: Chapters 27 and 28 describe a prophetic conflict concerning the status of the 597 B.C. exiles to Babylon and the future of those who remain behind. Jeremiah represented the view that the former would stay in exile and the latter were under judgment. Hananiah attacked Jeremiah and optimistically stated that all would end well in just a short period of time. The present chapter continues the same note of prophetic conflict. However, rather than two prophets in contact physically ...

4961. Jeremiah Buys a Field

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... -knocking awe. Such awe would lead to good consequences for that present generation as well as those that succeeded them. The book of Proverbs describes the good consequences that come on the wise and their descendants, wisdom being described as fear the Lord and staying away from evil (Prov. 1:7). Of course, Israel should by then be well aware that godless action results in both immediate and delayed punishment. The postexilic book of Chronicles is written in a way as to emphasize the former (sin now and ...

4962. Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

Jeremiah 38:1-13

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... political party, one that looked to Egypt for hope against the Babylonian threat. These men are deeply disturbed by Jeremiah’s preaching. He sounds like an agent of the Babylonians, telling the people that they will survive only if they surrender. Those who resist and stay in the city will die by sword, famine or plague, the three scourges of a military siege (see Additional Notes at 14:2). In a word, Jeremiah is claiming that the defeat of Jerusalem by the Babylonians is something that is assured by none ...

4963. Something is About to Happen!

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... bring us home. Religion is reaching for God; Christianity is God reaching for us. And we all need God to reach for us. If we are honest, we can’t do life alone. We can’t help ourselves. And people can’t either. The Answer You see, we can only stay afloat in life for so long. At some time, the tides of life roll and roar, and we cannot keep our lives above rough waters. Life will take us into the depths, and when that happens the deep in us calls out for some great deep answer. Perhaps that is ...

4964. Moments of Unity

John 17:1-11

Illustration

Dean Lueking

... . Where will we meet? Not in Japan. Nor in Scotland or the U.S.A. No, we will meet again in the church triumphant as we all gather about the throne of God to praise him forever! This hour in my life occurred thirty-seven years ago, but it will stay with me always. I cite it to stir your own awareness of those splendid, unplanned moments that bring you into the presence of another person of the faith. Such moments express the unity for which Christ prayed, and they are unforgettable.

4965. Gratitude: A Matter of Perspective

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... different people are thankful for different things. One mom was outside one morning shoveling her driveway. She stopped to wave hello to her neighbor. He asked her why her husband wasn’t out there helping her with the chore. She explained that one of them had to stay inside to take care of the children, so they drew straws to see who would go out and shovel. “Sorry about your bad luck,” the neighbor said. The woman looked up from her shoveling and said, “Don’t be sorry. I won!” Those of you who ...

4966. How to Have a Rich Future

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... like Jesus’ words to his followers. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back . . .” In terms of our personal lives, that is about all we can do to protect ourselves or those we love: keep watch and stay prepared. Unfortunately, even the best preparation can prove inadequate. For example, some of the things that we fear have to do with our physical or mental well-being. We fear cancer or we fear Alzheimer’s or a host of other ailments. And so we try to ...

4967. The God Who Comforts

Isaiah 40:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Leith drive his new red Chevrolet convertible to a friend’s house. Leith took a back way down a twisting rock-lined mountain road. The speed limit was 45 mph on this road, but a friend told Leith that it was impossible to maintain 45 mph on that road and stay in the right lane. Leith knew he could do it. He was wrong. His friend was right. Going around a curve he crossed the line just when another car was coming up the mountain. Leith took out the side of that car from headlight to taillight. Just as bad ...

4968. Getting It Right in the Coming Year

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

It seems strange that New Year’s Eve should fall on a Sunday. But that, of course, is what today is. Many of you are looking forward to New Year’s Eve parties. I’ve always appreciated writer Bill Vaughan’s words: “Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.” I won’t ask how late some of you will be up. Some of you will celebrate via your television. I also like what some comedian said about that. He said, “I love it when ...

4969. Faces of Failure: Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... hostile toward Jesus, but Nicodemus was different. He was among a small group of those in Jerusalem who’d seen Jesus’ signs—his miracles, healings, and exorcisms—and were intrigued. In fact, Nicodemus was so impressed that one night he came to where Jesus was staying. Now a lot has been made of the fact that he went “by night.” Some speculate he didn’t want others to see him, particularly his fellow Pharisees. There may be some truth to that, but in John’s Gospel light and dark are spiritual ...

4970. Faces of Failure: The Disciples

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... , when, in the first chapter of Mark, a man with an unclean spirit confronts Jesus, he “rebukes” it, “saying, “Be still, and come out of him.” That is very similar to what he says to the wind and sea: “Peace. Be still”—or literally, “Be muzzled, and stay muzzled.” Those are words which one would say not to the elements but rather a demonic force. And, of course, the wind and sea obey. But it wasn’t the case that the wind slowly began to die down and the swells began to lessen. The wind ...

4971. Actors

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Jamison

... it actually is, with all of the things that happened around it, but actually it is not large at all. You can easily see across it from east to west. The hillside with the crowd is just a short walk from Capernaum, where Jesus and the disciples have been staying for a while. Another short walk to the east is Bethsaida, the home of the brothers and a busy fishing village. There are several small villages on the western side too, and the city of Tiberias is just out of sight further south. It was only a couple ...

4972. Where It Ends

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

John Jamison

... those key moments in which a decision had to be made that had some very big consequences. Peter still could not imagine what Jesus was doing and the true meaning of it did not even cross his mind. All that Peter understood was that he had a choice either to stay with Jesus or be left behind. Peter responded in the only way he knew how. Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (v. 9). That’s Peter for you. It’s all or nothing, no middle ground on anything. Undoubtedly, that ...

4973. Out of Control (Good Friday sermon)

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

John Jamison

... the key to the gate of the small olive orchard near the bottom of the Kidron Valley, and as they went inside they each searched around for a comfortable place out of the breeze where they could get a good night’s sleep. Jesus asked a couple of them to stay with him for a while, and they walked further into the orchard as Jesus tried to help them understand what was going to happen. It may have been the late hour, or maybe it was all the wine from the seder meal, but they had a hard time understanding what ...

4974. Uncertain Certainties

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Jamison

... a poor choice in the process. Abraham was given choices, as were Jacob, Moses, and every other leader of the faith throughout history. Even Jesus was given choice, as we remember his final prayer in Gethsemane, when he finally said, “Okay, Dad, I’ll stay and go through with this.” It is choice that God offers as blessing. There are those today who fear choice, especially when it is related to one’s personal lives and religious beliefs. They feel a responsibility, not to prove anything to us because ...

4975. Tangled Up in the Vines

John 15:1-8

Sermon

John Jamison

... to measure the value of any vine. The other definition of the word abide is “to remain, to continue in relationship with, to dwell.” It means more than to tolerate, or put up with. It means we believe in something enough to live with it. It is where we stay. With that in mind, it may help us understand what Jesus is saying a bit better. Was Jesus saying that even if we don’t like what he wants, we are supposed to tolerate him and just go along? That no longer makes sense after he says, “Abide in me ...

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