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 26 to 50 of 4681 results

26. Bearing The Mark Of Christ

Mark 8:31--9:1, Mark 8:27-30

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Your Saints In Warfare ''Take Up Your Cross,'' The Savior Said Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart Around You, O Lord Jesus Prayer If it were up to us, Lord, we would have chosen a Christ who would make things easier on us. Cross-bearing is not our preference. Suffering is definitely to be avoided. Pain is particularly offensive. We would prefer an easier route for our salvation, a route which is less demanding, less emotionally taxing. Our preferences are based upon self-interest. If it were up to us, we ...

27. Bearing One Another's Burdens

Galatians 6:20

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... discomfort. His older brother, moved by his brother's suffering, would wear Booker's new shirts, until they were broken in and smoother to the touch. Booker said it was one of the most striking acts of kindness he had experienced among his fellow slaves. What a beautiful illustration of "bearing one another's burdens," which we are admonished to do in Galatians 6:20.

28. Bearing The Cross

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

At long last, Laura McDermott had fulfilled her lifelong dream. All she could ever think of doing with her life since she was a kid was to be a doctor. Now no one in the McDermott family had ever been to college before, let alone medical school. Her parents, therefore, were constantly reminding her of the obstacles in her path. "Are you sure you know what you are getting into?" her parents would quiz her periodically. Laura's friends pointed to other obstacles. "Are you sure you want to put yourself ...

29. Bearing Fruit for God

Luke 13:9

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some fertilizer. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever tried to grow a plant or a tree? (Let them answer.) Did it live? (Let them answer.) How did you take care of your plant? (Let them answer.) There is a story Jesus tells in the Bible about a man who had a fig tree planted on his farm. He asked another man who worked for him to take care of the tree. After a while, he came back to pick some of the fruit that had grown on the tree, but he was surprised to find that the tree had ...

30. Any Friendly Bears Out There?

Matthew 22:34-40

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A drawing of a nose Good morning, boys and girls. Do you remember last week's story about the little puppy dog who was loved by the farmer even though he did not give milk or wool or eggs or even catch mice? The farmer loved the little puppy dog because he gave him love. Actually, scientists tell us that in the very earliest days of human history, when people still lived in caves, they learned to tame dogs for protection. There was one thing the dogs could give them besides love. Dogs have a very ...

31. Bearing the Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Drama

Angela Akers

(4 readers spread out across the stage. Each person steps forward to deliver her lines, then steps back. Must be delivered forcefully and with conviction.) Reader One: “Four hundred and fifty: the estimated number of Christians killed daily around the world for their faith.”1 Reader Two: “Thirty-nine: the age of German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he was executed by the Nazis during World War II. He once wrote, ‘Cheap grace is a grace without discipleship, grace without the cross.’” 2 Reader Three: “ ...

32. The Right Connection

John 15:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... the vine. You cannot force a branch to produce fruit. You can’t command a branch to produce fruit. That is why nowhere do you find Jesus ever telling us to go out and produce fruit. Our job is not to produce the fruit; our job is to bear it. The way you bear fruit is by staying connected to the vine. So seven times Jesus tells us in verses 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10, “Abide. Abide. Abide.” Do you get the picture? You can’t make fruit. You can’t manufacture fruit and you can manipulate fruit. All you can ...

33. Get Real

John 15:1-11, 16

Sermon

James Merritt

... this passage. For some of you who have never become followers of Christ, listen to these verses: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (John 15:1, NASB) "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, NASB) Even though Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, what He said here was primarily for the benefit of those who were not His disciples. He gives us one of the best definitions of a Christian ...

34. The Right Connection

John 15:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... people call me a Christian?" Well, his son broke the silence and said: "Well dad, maybe it's because they don't know you!" Well friend, God knows you, and though we can be no one's judge, we can inspect the fruit. If you are rightly connected you will bear fruit. There is a Christian college out in the Midwest where there was once a large lovely tree that was the central part of the campus. It was a place where students would meet and talk, and for decades this giant oak was a mainstay of the beauty of that ...

35. Have You Been Pruned?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... it as punishment from God. All that is left for them is to lash out at God in anger. But the person who is able to pray in the face of great tragedy, “Lord, is there some way you can use this event to prune me and cause me to bear more fruit to your glory?” will find a source of strength they never dreamed possible. In one of Bishop William Willimon’s recent books he tells a sensitive and beautiful story about a young couple who understood the meaning of God’s pruning in a way that would humble all ...

36. Bearers of the Seed

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... bearers of that knowledge, that wisdom, that relationship, that covenant, that resurrection truth that is Jesus the Christ. On the altar today is a large bowl [or basket] of fruit. I’d like you come up to the altar today, commit yourself to Jesus with the words, “I will bear the gospel for you Jesus.” And then take a piece of fruit with you to remind you who you are as a child of God, and what your mission will be as you go out those doors today and into the world to proclaim the mystery of the gospel ...

37. Which End Is Up?

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -create the world, one person at a time. The covenant, that special promissory relationship between God and the Jews, is now opened up to everyone. Jew and Gentile, all who trust in Christ, are transformed into something new and can enter into a God-bearing, Gift-bearing, and Grace-bearing life. We can become the Body of Christ, the Christbody community, a new creation on a new earth. Jesus doesn’t lead you so much to a place beyond the clouds as to a place beyond your fears and your griefs and your shame ...

38. Evangelism Jesus' Style

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Most people don’t need advice from us - they need love — and isn’t that the Gospel? Do you remember the inimitable Bear Bryant? I heard a story about him that really touches. Just before he retired, he said: “When I retire, I’ll probably ... it.” Some of his players who heard him say that had their hearts broken. Bobby McKenna who was one of those players called Bear Bryant and said, “Bear, I’ve got to come see you. I’ve been grieved about something you’ve said for two days. I’ve got to ...

39. News From The Vineyard

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... "Take Time to Be Holy." That would be funny, if it were not so sad. We need nourishment-spiritual nourishment-if we are to bear fruit. A few years ago a news article hit the wire service detailing the plight of a Swedish women who had a rare eating ... fruit. It is He who decides what is to be allowed to flourish and what is to be thrown into the fire. For some of us bearing fruit may simply be a kind word to someone who is hurting. Someone wrote a very painful letter to Ann Landers: Dear Ann: Last December a ...

40. First Sunday In Christmastide

John 15:1-17

Bulletin Aid

David M. Oliver

... a teacher Jesus used all kinds of object lessons and stories to communicate with people. In this case, he spoke about grapevines. He said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit" (John 15:1-2). Jesus likens himself to a vine that God has planted and is tending. The followers of Jesus are likened to branches on the vine. When I read, did you hear what happens to the branches of ...

41. Tarzan He Was Not

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... is what Jesus is talking about. He is the vine, we are the branches. But sometimes we are like those low lying branches trailing along the ground. Our leaves are coated with dirt. When it rains we get coated with mud and mildew. At such times we are incapable of bearing fruit. What does the owner of the vineyard do with us? Does he cut us off and throw us in the fire? No, we are too valuable to him for that. Instead, he tenderly washes us off and lifts us up with his gentle, nail-scarred hands and places us ...

42. The Bramble King

John 15:1-17, John 15:18--16:4, John 16:5-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If ... ; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will ...

43. The Vine

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... from the primal, prepared vine of Jesus. With Jesus there is no black or white here. No question of degree of fruit. You either bear Jesus fruit. Or no fruit. For God has no use for people who work in other vineyards. God only has use for people who ... choices. God has given us choices. We can be part of another kind of vine. We can associate ourselves with the kinds of vines that bear poison flowers or are poisonous to the touch. We can allow our nature to be taken in by vines that harm instead of vines ...

44. Strengthened For Life

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... saw a new man in Taylor. He lost the sense of strain and agony. As he yielded his life to Christ, he radiated a magnetism of love and happiness. He was no longer a man struggling for God; he was a man being used by God. If we fail to bear spiritual fruit, it could be because we have lost our vital contact with Christ. We restore that relationship when we yield our minds and hearts and wills to Christ. It is then that he is the vine and we are the branches. Second, with this teaching, Jesus not only makes ...

45. The Cross Burden or Blessing?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to accomplish those things one could not do otherwise. The cross we are called to carry is not a crushing, back-breaking burden. Instead it is more like a yoke — a beam with a cross-bar that lies upon our shoulders and makes it possible for us to bear far more than we ever thought possible because Christ is the lead puller. In fact, the yokes of the first century looked like a cross, which makes Christ’s promise that “my yoke is easy” all the more revealing. Have you ever noticed that a small cross ...

46. Trees

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren. After some days, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the ...

47. Gateway to Grace

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... the second chapter of Judges when an angel appears, causing great fright in Israel, and speaks as Almighty God. We may conclude that when God speaks, he "breathes" angels. Some may say that God doesn't do things like this. But one thing we can be sure of — just as bears do pretty much what they want in camp, so God can do pretty much what he wants. After all, it's God's world. We just live in it. Joshua stands before God and lives. He is becoming God's servant. He's getting the priorities straight that we ...

48. Precocious

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... more at first…but then gradually the songs will stop. Just as a tree that has been in shock or confined loses its ability to bear fruit, so a songbird in confinement loses its song. But a free bird will sing its heart out each and every day. Too many ... to remember its roots, to remember its song, to remember its mission in the world. Today, let’s all be “precocious” –let’s bear fruit, lift our voices in praise, and walk out that door to sing Jesus’ praises IN the world. The door is open. ...

49. The Greatest Temptation Of All

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... chase you; he's going to make it hard on you."(6) You and I might not say it exactly that way, but the message is on target. Life calls for vigilance. There are temptations out there that would destroy us if we would let them just as that polar bear would have surely attacked his keeper who forgot to lock the cage. But the greatest temptation we face is the temptation to be less than what Christ has called us to be. "Get thee behind me Satan," said Jesus. Those are words that we need to speak when we are ...

50. A Priesthood of Believers

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... primary road block to our being priests to one another. What we need to recognize is that while most of us would like to be independent, most of us are really not. In the words of the rock song, “We need somebody to lean on.” “Every man must bear his own burden, bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Can’t say everything I’d like to say about the priest hood of all believers but that’s enough practical stuff to go on - at least, for a while. So let me review now and ...

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