Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: contest, tournament, match, game, round, heat, fixture, event, meet, encounter, rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war, opposing side, other side, other team, field, enemy, foe

Showing 476 to 500 of 676 results

476. The Meals-on-Wheels Temple

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... faith community becomes a “spiritual house,” and all its members become participants in a new “holy priesthood.” Almost two thousand years before Harry Truman, Jesus declared, “the buck stops here” to all who would follow him. Jesus took everything — his self-centered, competitive disciples; the failure of the Temple-based faith; the sins of the entire world -upon himself. And he took that weight onto the cross. As followers of Jesus, we are to take on . . . not the sins of the world, but a ...

477. Those Kissing Christians

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to handle sometimes being slapped down and laughed at. So what do you say, church? How good a kisser are we? How good are we at kissing our neighborhood, kissing our city, kissing our enemies, kissing our moment in history? This is Jesus’ kind of competition: who gets the Best Kiss Award? [Here you might want to conclude by getting the kids to pass out some Hershey Kisses, while you play “Sixpence None the Richer” song “Kiss Me.”] [Another possible way of ending your sermon is to have people kiss ...

478. A Beautiful Doxology

Matthew 11:25-30

Illustration

James W. Moore

... problems in this life, still the truth is: - We have so many doxologies to sing, - So much to be grateful for, - So many blessings to count. The point is: Life is more than a grueling endurance test. Life is more than a survival game. Life is more than a coping competition. So, you see… it's not enough to just escape the stress. It's not enough to just endure the stress. Thank God… there is another option…

479. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... guarantees a done deal for the seeds’ success. As every agri-business manager and backyard gardener knows, nutrient rich soil nurtures weeds just as well as it does the plants one is trying to grow. In the third case of Jesus’ parable the “competition” wins out — the sowed seed loses out to the “thorns” and is “choked” out before any harvestable grain crop can be produced. “Good soil” is the reason for the success of the fourth example. This soil is free of competing weeds, deep enough ...

480. When the Caterers Weren’t Available

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... live in such a skeptical, rationalist age. It’s all the red tape as well. Here are a few examples. Turning water into wine. This would provoke immediate protests from the alcoholic beverage industry, who would argue that it was unfair competition, amounting to a monopoly. It would also be denounced by various Christian bodies as irresponsible and likely to lead to drunkenness. Feeding the multitude. Serving bread and fish to thousands of people at an outdoor event would require the approval of government ...

481. Never, Never, Never, NEVER GIVE UP!

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Some folks were talking together. One of them said, "Our congregation is sometimes down to thirty or forty on a Sunday." One from another church said, "That's nothing, sometimes our group is down to ten to twelve in the summer." Not to be outdone, in a truly competitive spirit, another dear lady added, "It's so bad in our church on Sunday that when the minister says, ‘Dearly beloved,' it makes me blush!" If we need any motivation to improve, we have it in abundance in Paul's words in our text: "We do not ...

482. The Little Golf Club

Sermon

John Smylie

... . My grandfather loved golf. In his profession, he had the opportunity to take clients out golfing. He was a member of an upscale golf course in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He would regularly play rounds of golf with scores in the seventies. I never experienced his competitive nature and yet to be that good a golfer I know he must have been pushing himself throughout his golfing days. When I was a little boy, my mother and I moved in with my grandfather because of my mom's divorce and my grandmother's ...

483. Epiphany: All about You!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... And that person was you! Did you see it coming? Did you guess it? Of course not, though secretly you knew you always deserved it. Congratulations! So when Time selected you as the person of the year, from their perspective, you should feel very flattered. You beat out all the competition. Time wrote this: ... who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, "I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's ...

484. Genuine Hope

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... they can sing? Have they never listened to themselves in the shower? Has no one who has heard them ever been honest with them? And have they never listened to the people who make it on this show? How could they seriously hope to win the competition against singers of such phenomenal talent? It's really sad to watch people make complete fools of themselves, hoping for something that has no connection to reality. None of us can live without hope and living hopefully is certainly an important part of being a ...

485. Yielding to Spiritual Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23, James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked. "Well, didn't you know?" said the farmer. "The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn all around my farm, and it swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross ...

486. Heavenly Wisdom

James 3:13—4:8

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... in the penitentiary for one of the foulest crimes a human can commit. I was instrumental in teaching him how to walk again, but there was no one to teach him where to walk." This is what happens when we teach our children that competition is more important than compassion; that charisma produces more influence than character. Long gone is the teaching of virtue from our public school classrooms. The only place our children are going to hear about the values of honesty, sincerity, kindness, peacemaking, and ...

487. Enough Spirit to Go Around!

Acts 10:44-48

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... that refuses to be contained nor restrained! There's enough Spirit to go around to bring unity for all. This lesson for the sixth Sunday after Easter is a lesson about the fulfillment of old prophecies. Division among earth's peoples, contention and war, competition and racial prejudice, and distrust will come to an end. The Spirit of Jesus alive and proclaimed in and among the community is bringing to an end the days of human disunity. Isaiah saw the deliverer coming "to gather all nations and tongues" (66 ...

488. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... pretenses of the world; in other words, trying to be someone you're not. David realized he had to be himself. He had to play the way he always had, the game he knew the best, the game that had gotten him to this moment in his life and this competition. Advanced weapons the world tried to give him were not his ticket to victory. He had to trust his own instincts knowing that he was not alone. That brings us to the third reason David was not an underdog: He had God on his side. God was not on David ...

489. Effort Statistics

Illustration

Robert McGarvey,

... team won four NBA championships. In taking over the New York Knicks in 1991, Riley inherited a team with a losing record. But the Knicks seemed able to play above their abilities and even gave the eventual champions, the Chicago Bulls, their hardest competition in the play-offs. How did Riley do it? He says his talent lies in attention to detail. For example, every NBA team studies videotapes and compiles statistics to evaluate players' game performances. But Riley's use of these tools is more comprehensive ...

490. Insignificant: Effort Statistics

Illustration

Robert McGarvey

... won four NBA championships. When taking over the New York Knicks in 1991, Riley inherited a team with a losing record. But the Knicks seemed able to play above their abilities and even gave the eventual champions, the Chicago Bulls, their hardest competition in the playoffs. How did Riley do it? He said his talent was in the attention to detail. For example, every NBA team studies videotapes and compiles statistics to evaluate players' game performances. But Riley's use of these tools is more comprehensive ...

491. My Get Up and Go

Illustration

... my way back. The reason I know my youth is all spent My get up and go has got up and went! But I really dont' mind, when I think with a grin Of all the grand places my get up has been. Since I've retired from life's competition I busy myself with complete repetition. I get up each morning, dust off my wits, Pick up the paper and read the "O-bits"; If my name is missing, I know I'm not dead, So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed!!

492. Crops in Decline

Illustration

Staff

... his crops, heard of a highly recommended new seed corn. He bought some and produced a crop that was so abundant that his astonished neighbors asked him to sell them a portion of the new seed. But the farmer, afraid that he would lose a profitable competitive advantage, refused. The second year, the new seed did not produce as good a crop, and when the third-year crop was still worse, it dawned upon the farmer that his prize corn was being pollinated by the inferior grade of corn from his neighbors' fields ...

493. Meet In the Middle

Illustration

Leo Rosten

Plans were made to dig a tunnel under the English Channel. The bidding for the tunnel contract was fierce and competitive. Murray Liebowitz surprised everyone when he and his son won the bidding. His friends weren't sure that he was up to the challenge. "Murray," they exclaimed, "do you realize that the tunnel must be at least twenty five miles long? That's not easy!" "Easy, schmeezy!" Murray replied. "I' ...

494. Life at the End of the Line

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... have first choice on dessert. I wonder sometimes if I would have a different outlook on life if my name began with an "A." We live in a society where being "first" means everything. Everyone wants to be number one or be part of a group that is number one. Competition is the name of the game. Our motto is "win, win, win, me, me, me." To find ourselves at the end of the line in anything is absolutely tragic. None of us wants to come in last. No one wants to wait. Then, along comes Jesus. He totally ruins our ...

495. How Connected Are You?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

It helps to have connections. Everybody knows it’s true. It’s not what you know, the cynic says, but WHO you know that makes a difference. Unfortunately in some regards that’s true. In this competitive world where it is so difficult to land a job, it does pay to know somebody who can help you on your way. Oh, your mother’s friend is president of a company? Good for you. Being connected may not help you actually land the job, but at least you ...

496. Don’t Drop the Baton

Jn 6:1-15

Illustration

King Duncan

... the United States would be victorious in the men's 400-meter relay. They simply were the best. The gun cracked and they were off and running. After the last curve the unthinkable happened. The United States was ahead by 10 meters with no real competition in sight. And then, with victory in their grasp, it happened. They dropped the baton. The thousands in the stands gasped in disbelief. The United States team sleek, muscular, and fast as leopards, lost the race. Why? Someone dropped the baton. I would hate ...

497. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... takes your hard-earned money, blows it all on hookers and booze, then comes crawling back when the cash runs out, and what do you do? You throw a big party for him, and in the process, you kill that prize calf we were fattening up to enter into the competition at the county fair. But good, old, hard-working Sonny, the one who never gives any trouble, what kind of party does he get? None, that's what! Good, old Sonny not only does not get the fatted calf, he doesn't even get a goat. Go into Junior's ...

498. Proper 8

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21, 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, Psalm 16:1-11; 77:1-2, 11-20, Luke 9:51-62, Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... to learn peace-making, collaborating, and compromising. We pray for Native Americans who struggle to survive with their ancient stories in a complicated world. Open our eyes to options for entertaining ourselves without war games and gambling and fierce competitions. Open our minds to alternate ways of being neighbors needing resources that are beyond our own boundaries. Equip leaders with wisdom beyond their experience. God of Individuals — thank you for your sustaining presence day by day. Give us ...

499. Proper 10

Deuteronomy 30:9-14, Psalm 25:1-10; 82:1-8, Amos 7:7-17, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 1:1-14

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... your constant love. Violence makes us afraid yet many people live in peril every day. War repels us yet we participate in terrorizing people around the planet in order to get what our nation wants or needs. Hunger and disease plague children and adults. Competition between religious systems stoke murderous actions. We find solace in the psalms: Remember your mercy toward us; relieve us of our worries and save us from our troubles. Feed the hungry and heal the sick. With trust, we turn to you for safety. God ...

500. Proper 15

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19, Isaiah 5:1-7, Luke 12:49-53, Hebrews 11:29--12:2

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... God — see our children grow and learn. Keep them safe from harm and guide them to be leaders for a fresh dream of possibility for all peoples. Help us mentor them in compassion and hospitality so that they are not overcome with competition and mediocre projects. Amen. Benediction Life is a journey to Mystery. Experiment with multiple names for God; Explore different ways to respond to the Holy Spirit. Laugh each day and unbuild the overwhelming towers of the world. Notice possibilities around each corner ...

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