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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4951. Marching Forward by Faith!

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... from his roof? He slid down the steep shingles, slipped over the eave, and barely managed to grab hold of the gutters. Dangling there three stories from the earth, the man looked to the heavens above and shouted “My God can any body help me?" Suddenly time stopped, the clouds parted and a voice from heaven said, “Have faith, turn loose." The man took one more glance at the ground below, then looked back to the heavens and said, “Is there anybody else up there who could help me?" FAITH. You can't leave ...

4952. Stepping Into the Stream

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... like the sun and moon together. If my hands were to hover in the sky like powerful eagles and my feet ran across mountains as swiftly as the deer. All that would not be enough to pay you fitting tribute, O, Lord my God. Last week I asked you to STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN—to pay attention to the God who is closer than the air we breathe. Today, I want to ask you to get out of the boat and walk on the water. Make a step of discipleship. Where He leads me I will follow. Give the winds your ...

4953. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... beat him, of course.” Why? “The request means he wants his father to die.” And yet, this father, in this story, grants the request. Henry Nouwen writes: “The father, who represents God in this story, never pulls back his hands, never withholds his blessing, never stops considering this son the beloved one. But the father cannot compel his son to stay home. He cannot force his love on his beloved. He has to let him go into freedom even though he knows the pain it will cause them both. It is love ...

4954. News Too Good To Tell

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and bought her the expensive dress she had been admiring. He bought her a large bottle of perfume to go with it. He ordered tickets to the Broadway play she had been wanting to see and made reservations at their favorite restaurant. On his way home he stopped by the florist and bought two dozen red roses which he carried home under his arm. Upon arriving home, he exploded through the door, hugged his wife affectionately and told her what he had done. “I just want you to know that I love you; I appreciate ...

4955. The Door of Hospitality

John 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... doors. We install elaborate alarms on our cars and throughout our houses. We surround our airports with safety officials, our cities with armed police and our country with the omnipresent military. We train our children to beware of strangers. We are reluctant to stop and help a stranded motorist. We prefer to communicate by cell phone and the internet rather than entering into a conversation with an individual. It just seems much safer that way. The risk of face-to-face encounters are just too much. There ...

4956. Where Is He?

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born the king of the Jews?” Matthew 2:1-2. The greatest Christmas miracle may be that these wise men stopped and asked for directions. Who were these visitors from the East? Garrison Keillor says, “One had to be a Lutheran bearing a tuna noodle casserole for the covered dish supper.” The Bible says they were Magi—good and holy men, skilled in philosophy, medicine and ...

4957. What Is the Future of United Methodism?

John 2:12-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... place at the table. The old system of top-down is gone forever. Yes, if we redirect our mission dollars from subsidizing clergy and ingrown churches, and invest them in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the lost, and others marginalized by society. Yes, if we stop using large churches as cash cows to prop up a system that is outdated and ineffective, while denying them the freedom to employ the leadership needed to fulfill their vision. Yes, if we can agree on core values while agreeing to disagree on non ...

4958. The Fundamentals of Family Ties

1 Corinthians 13:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... A few months later I got married and reality struck. After a few courses in psychology and shortly before our first son was born, I preached a sermon on the “Twelve Essential Elements of Effective Parenting.” Our children were normal preacher’s kids so I stopped giving advice on raising children. Now that my sons are grown and my wife is out of town, I thought I would end this series of sermons on “It Takes a Family” with some practical and pragmatic thoughts on survival in the close quarters of ...

4959. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the only prophetic presence echoed early in this journey. Now even as John the Baptist had been sent ahead to prepare the way (7:27), Jesus now sends his own disciples out ahead to pave the way for his arrival. Significantly, the first stop made by the Jerusalem-bound Jesus is a Samaritan village. This reveals that instead of bypassing the Samaritan region by traveling through the Transjordan area, Jesus and his followers took the more direct route through the Samaritan settled lands. The animosity between ...

4960. Esther: The Problem of Opportunity

Esther 4:11-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... -five to thirty. When the door closed with only the two of us, he spoke up and said, “How are you feeling?" “So, so," I said. “I know, my dad has cancer too," he continued. “I will be praying for you." The door opened and I stepped off and I stopped; I was touched. He didn't have to do that; he had troubles enough of his own. He didn't know me from Adam. Yet, in the time it takes for an elevator to climb a few floors, he seized the opportunity to care for me, a stranger. It's ...

4961. Worship

Hebrews 10:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of food essential for my recovery. In my pain, I lamented to Sandy, “This is hell." She thought for a moment and in her kind way replied, “No, this is not hell; going through this without God and friends—that would be hell. But we have both!" There I stopped and bowed my head, thought about those words in the good Book written in red and thanked God that His grace is sufficient for every need. I'll praise my Maker while I've breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler ...

4962. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... act on the need at hand. Compassion is the conviction to do what you can with what you've got. Compassion is a decision to touch the untouchable, love the unlovable, and help the helpless in the hour of need. Emily Dickinson put it this way: “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life from aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Into his nest again, I shall not live in vain." III. THE CONSEQUENCES OF COMPASSION Here our story takes a strange twist ...

4963. What Can Christians Learn from Hindus?

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I abide in you." Henri Nouwen tells about meeting Mother Theresa. “I was struggling," says Henri, “so I decided to seek her advice. I sat down, started explaining my problems, my difficulties, describing how complex and complicated life was. After about ten minutes, I stopped to get my breath. That's when Mother Theresa said, ‘Well when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never doing anything which you know is wrong. . . you will be fine.' Suddenly I realized she had spoken the truth and I ...

4964. Habakkuk: The Problem of Evil

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... question: HOW LONG? How long, O Lord, how long? It's the question of every child traveling on vacation. It's the question of every mother in her ninth month of pregnancy. As I took an extended vacation at Vanderbilt hospital this week with a cough that wouldn't stop, I found myself asking, too, how long, O Lord, how long? Of course, Habakkuk had deeper things on his mind. He wanted to know. “How long must I cry for help, but you will not listen? How long must I cry, ‘Violence!' but you do not save?" As ...

4965. The Power to Begin Again

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... spiritual forces of wickedness - Peter says, “Renounce them." II. REPENT AND TURN TO GOD SO THAT YOUR SINS CAN BE WIPED OUT. We are not likely to reach our desired destination by traveling faster in the wrong direction. Sometimes the best thing we can do is stop and turn around. Several years ago I was coming home from a fast trip to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina when I ran into a horrific traffic jam at the tunnels on I-40 outside Knoxville. Not known to be a patient driver, I whipped off the interstate ...

4966. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... have been saved. When Paul and Silas were spending the night in a Philippian jail, an earthquake shook the doors open and the chains off their feet. The jailer, realizing escaped prisoners meant certain death drew his sword to commit suicide. When Paul and Silas stopped him, the jailer exclaimed, “What must I do to be saved?" He was not interested in a theological discussion, he was interested in survival. How can I get out of here alive?—by salvation. It's Mother's Day so let me make a true confession ...

4967. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Jesus was on his way to visit a child who way dying. The crowds were so intense they almost crushed Him. There, in the crowd, was a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. She touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was instantly healed. Jesus stopped and insisted that the disciples find the person who touched Him. When they did, He affirmed her faith and sent her home in peace. Have we that kind of compassion? Are we that aware, tuned in, responsive, to the cry of the needy? Fred Craddock may be ...

4968. The Power to Look Up

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... will take some flowers to a special place of memory. We will relive our life with those who are dear to us; we will shed a tear. Memory is God's way of keeping those with us who have gone before us. There are times when we are wise to stop and look back. I suppose if you have a loved one in Iraq today the word would be look OUT. Look out for car bombs; look out for suicide terrorists. Look out for insurgents who will give their lives to create chaos. We want you home; look out. Whatever your ...

4969. Serving the Poor—Compassionately

Matthew 25: 31-40

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , and the crippled on the streets of Calcutta, India. Mother Theresa was given a full state funeral. The Prime Minister of Pakistan called her a “rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes." The world nodded at her passing, but hardly stopped to mourn her loss. It's All Saints Sunday. We have survived the ghosts and goblins of another Halloween and find ourselves in church affirming our faith in the “Communion of the Saints." We gather to remember. And today especially, I pose this ...

4970. Encountering Incomparable Riches

Ephesians 2:4-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... each and every one, equally the same. II. CONSIDER THE JUSTIFYING GRACE OF GOD Some call this saving grace or converting grace. It is the means by which we are made right with God. Justifying grace is the love that sets us free. Sandy and I have both been stopped by the Brentwood police for speeding in front of the church. I got a ticket costing me $118.00. She got a warning costing her nothing. I got justice. She got a pardon. I paid the price. She was set free. So we sometimes sing: Mercy there was great ...

4971. Love

John 15:9-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... daughter, if every child that starved to death felt like flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, if every murder and every rape became one of our family, I wonder how much we would tolerate and how involved we might become to stop it? The story goes that Abraham Lincoln was riding home from church one Sunday discussing the sermon he had just heard. “The Reverend was well prepared," said Lincoln. “He had a thoughtfully constructed sermon, but it lacked its most important ingredient. The preacher never ...

4972. Pray

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... will be heard. Of course, the other half of communication is active listening. By active listening, I mean the ability to clarify, hear, and really understand what the other party is saying. The reason most of us fail to hear from God is that we never stop babbling long enough for God to get in a word edgewise. Wesley said, “He speaks, and listening to His voice, New life the dead receive; The mournful, broken hearts rejoice, The humble poor believe." When it comes to prayer, are you a good listener? II ...

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