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 476 to 500 of 1679 results

476. Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

1 Kings 11:26-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...

477. Solomon's Death

1 Kings 11:41-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

478. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

On the news one day a short while ago --some of you may remember this—we heard that eight young high school boys viciously attacked and gang raped an 8 year old girl, a special needs child. One by one, they took turns raping her and beating her until at last she died. The town was shocked. These were their star varsity players…their A students...their church acolytes...their beloved sons. How could this happen? It's called “peer pressure.” A similar thing happened in the case of a young college freshman, ...

479. An Affirming Presence

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Sometimes a biblical passage catches us off guard. We simply aren’t ready for it. If we listen, it takes our breath away, and leaves us limp. But if we continue to listen, really give it our attention, the weakness that has come from being taken aback by surprise becomes strength flowing from an overwhelming joy at what the word is saying to us and what we’re receiving from the word. Ephesians 3:14-19 was such a passage for me not long ago. Paul is praying for the people to whom he writes, and if you ...

480. The Demons Within

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

Ours is an age that is filled with demons. There is more possession going on in the first decade of this 21st century than has gone on in many a century. And the problem is that we don't want to mention it because demons are part of the mythical past. We in our scientific world do not believe in demons. That is because demons are powers that take away our control and leave us at the mercy of powers outside ourselves. Now, I realize in saying this that there are those of you who are immediately thinking to ...

481. What Is The Question?

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

I have to tell you, I generally ask myself a lot of questions. And when I have the opportunity, I ask questions of others. But today I am asking, "What is the question?" What is your question? If you were offered one wish that would be granted, one question that would be answered, one priority that would be fulfilled, right now, at this time in your life, what would it be? What is the question? The untimely death of Michael Landon recently caused me to ask myself, "What would I do...what would I say...with ...

482. Working Out Our Salvation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

William Muil describes a time he visited one of those old colonial houses up in New England. The house still retained the furniture and the atmosphere of the 18th Century. The guide was the last descendent of the original owner of the house. As Muil was walking through the house, he noticed a beautiful old rifle over the fireplace, and reached up to examine it. The old lady pulled his arm down and said, “Please don’t touch it, it’s loaded and it may go off.” Then she explained, “My great, great grandfather ...

483. The Fundamentals of Family Ties

1 Corinthians 13:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At the tender age of 18, I preached my first sermon on marriage and family. It was entitled “When Home is Heaven.” 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 ...

484. Come with Me to the Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Swindoll in his book Day By Day tells the story of a mysterious event that occurred several years ago to a group of young guys from the church he pastored in Southern California. They were on a mountain climbing excursion, along with their youth leader. While taking in the breathtaking sights, the leader realized he had lost the trail. A heavy snowfall had completely covered the path, and he didn’t have a clue where they were or how they could get back to the main camp. Sundown was not far away, ...

485. About Getting Drunk

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by a traffic cop. “What are these matches and lighter fluid doing in your car?” asks the officer. Was he a potential arsonist, thought the officer or, even worse, a terrorist? “I’m a juggler,” the driver answered, “and I juggle flaming torches in my act.” “Oh yeah?” says the doubtful cop. “Let’s see you do it.” The juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches masterfully. A couple driving by slow down to watch. “Wow,” says the driver to his ...

486. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Nature and Importance of Faith The mention of the importance of faith in the last two verses of the preceding chapter leads naturally to this famous chapter on faith. It is impossible to know whether the author is making use of a source, which he now takes over in part or totally, or whether he is composing a fresh catalogue of heroes on the model of existing examples. Extensive reviews of the history of Israel had been composed to substantiate a warning or to provide encouragement, and some of these ...

487. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The Faithful Followers Sunday School class at the Church of What’s Happening Now was discussing the upcoming season of Lent. The congregation had never had such a discussion. This congregation prided itself on their core value of relevance. Adhering to ancient seasons such as Advent and Lent simply did not rise to that standard. Their church calendar had a softball schedule but no mention of Lent. Their new pastor, however, had suggested the congregation might find the rhythm of a traditional church ...

488. Mirror, Mirror ON The Wall . . .!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Do you remember the fairy tale "Snow White"? Recall how the wicked witch peered into her magic looking glass and said, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"\n The mirror's answer was quite disappointing. "It's certainly not you, Ugly!"\n Does your mirror ever do that to you? Sad to say, but thousands of people's mirrors disappoint them each day.\n Have you ever known someone to look at a photograph of himself in his high school yearbook and say, "Golly, I take an awful picture. ...

489. Would We Rather Be Comfortable Or Comforted?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Mark Radecke

"What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?" Jesus asks the crowd. "Someone dressed in soft robes? Those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet." The crowds went out to see one arrayed not in comfortable soft raiment but in the rugged prophet's garb of camel hair and leather. The old saw has it that the preacher's task is to comfort the afflicted... and afflict the comfortable. As we approach our Advent ...

490. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

A photocopied sign was posted inside a church office. It was one of those humorous full-page slogans that people in different offices duplicate and pass among themselves. Most of us have seen this particular message, I suppose, but posted in a church office, the words took on a new meaning. There it was, taped to the cinder blocks behind a secretary's desk. The sign read, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." At one level, why not put a sign like that in a church? Many churches are busy ...

491. The Wisdom In Waiting

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

"Fear not!" Jesus says. These are the same words spoken by the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds on the occasion of his first coming. Now they are used to speak of his second coming. The reason why we need not fear is because God's good pleasure is to give us the kingdom. We cannot earn it. We cannot build it. It is a gift of grace. Despite all the evidence to the contrary and all attempts to oppose it, the promise has been made. The kingdom of God is on the way. We are to wait for it and be ready. The ...

492. Emancipation Proclamation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

These are slippery words that Jesus used when, fifteen centuries ahead of Martin Luther, nineteen centuries ahead of Abraham Lincoln, he issued the emancipation proclamation: "If you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Slippery words, I said, for when we think we have these concepts, truth and freedom, neatly boxed and wrapped with pretty ribbons, they begin to slip away. The usual baggage we have stuffed inside of them is ...

493. The Necessity of Moral Commitment

Gen 3:1-24 · Is 28:15

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

The way things are going today we would almost think that we have been let loose in the universe in the midst of a strange experience called life, with no maps, no roads, no guideposts, nothing that is directive, no compass, not even a north and south or an east and west. How can we know the truth about life? What did the creator have in mind? What does he now have in mind for us? What is God’s structure of life - his pattern for human relationships? What does he mean by love, beauty, reality? Where does ...

494. Minute Accounting

Matthew 12:22-37

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

"I tell you, on the day of the judgment, men will render account for every careless word they utter." Really? A number of questions arise immediately when one hears that statement. One has to do with the logistics of accounting. A lot of careless words are spoken. Are we to believe that God (or some of his assistants!) keeps a verbatim record of all of these words and then confronts each person with the ones he or she has spoken at the final reckoning? Another question involves the justice of such a policy ...

495. Can A Christian Brag?

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

It was Anita Cheek Milner's fiftieth birthday. Her older daughter gave her a pin that said: 50 is NIFTY. Anita wore it to work that day, and what fun it was! All day, people kept saying things to her like, "Anita, you don't look fifty " or "Why, Anita, you can't be fifty" and "We know you can't be fifty." It was wonderful, she reports. "Now, I knew they were lying," she confesses, "and they knew I knew, but isn't that what friends and coworkers are for? To lie to you when you need it, in times of emergency ...

496. Destined For Greatness

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

Whatever happened to the grand old doctrine of predestination--the view that all of life has been predetermined, preordained, fixed in place with no possibility of alteration? Some of our younger folks may not even have heard of this time-honored view of life, but there was a time when it was a hot topic. It even produced humor. Two pastors were good friends but had radically different theologies. Bob was a strong believer in predestination. He believed that everything that happens to us has already been ...

497. What Love Looks Like

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

People do some really strange things to get their names into the Guinness Book of World Records. Every year, the Guinness organization publishes a book that lists the latest world records for such feats as walking the greatest distance on stilts, or eating the most M&Ms with chopsticks. Very few of us aspire to setting records like that. One particularly noteworthy entry in the 2004 edition of Guinness World Records was set on August 3, 2001, when 4,703 people participated in the world's biggest hug--that' ...

498. The Power of a God-Shaped Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I have a potential gift for you this morning. There are two marvelous readings shared from the sacred scriptures, and the truth they both profess is the POWER OF A GOD-SHAPED ATTITUDE! Do you remember the lyrics we learned as children which went like this: "Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been? I''ve been to London to see the queen. Pussycat, Pussycat, what saw you there? I saw a wee mouse under her chair." Now London is a splendid and enchanting place to visit. Imagine a city which includes places like ...

499. Handling the Harshness of Life

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

She had every reason to be bitter. The circumstances of life had dealt a ton of harshness for her to handle. Though talented, she went unrecognized for years. Prestigious opera circles closed their ranks when she tried to enter. American critics ignored her compelling voice. She was repeatedly rejected for parts for which she easily qualified. It was only after she went to Europe and won the hearts of tough-to-please European audiences that stateside opinion leaders acknowledged her talent. Not only was ...

500. The Way Up Is the Way Down

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Potato chips, cheese curls, and candy may be some of your favorites, but for twenty-four mule deer in the Grand Canyon National Park, these indulgences proved deadly. Park rangers were forced to shoot more than two dozen mule deer who became hooked on junk food left by visitors. It was death by Cheetos and suicide by Snicker bar! Why eat twigs or chew bark if a Twinkie is nearby? Once deer taste the sugar and salt of snack foods, they develop an addiction and will go to any lengths to eat only junk food. ...

Showing results