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 576 to 600 of 4936 results

576. Look Who's Giving Thanks!

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

For the past twenty years or so, a team of nutritionists and home economists on Butterball Turkey's Turkey Talk-Line have answered every conceivable question about how to cook a holiday turkey to perfection. One woman called to find out how long it would take to roast her turkey. To answer the question, the Talk-Line home economist asked how much the bird weighed. The woman responded, “I don't know, it's still running around outside." Leadership magazine had a story sometime back about a lady who was ...

577. Where Can I Be Safe?

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Where can I be safe? That is a question many people are asking. All of us want to know that our home is safe, our family is safe, that those we love are protected. Some unknown wit has suggested some signs that you can put around your home to keep it safe from burglars. Perhaps you will find these signs helpful: Sign #1. Dear Mr. Butcher, starting tomorrow, please leave eight pounds of meat for Brutus. Six pounds only makes him angry and vicious! Sign #2. Dear Mr. Mailman, Please be sure to keep all parts ...

578. A New Shalom

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Harry N. Huxhold

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual ...

579. Just The Way It Is

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. All: The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. Women: He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. Men: He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. One: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. All: The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. Right ...

580. Give Me Jesus

Matthew 22:34-40

Illustration

King Duncan

Dr. Paul Wee, a staff member of the Lutheran World Federation, recalls standing at the bedside of dying archbishop, Janis Matulis, of Latvia. A visitor had just sung, at Matulis' request, an old spiritual with the words, "Oh, when I am alone, when I am alone, give me Jesus." Matulis then asked those around his bed: "Do you know why this song means so much to me? Three times war passed over Latvia, killing two-fifths of our people. They burned down my church and destroyed Bibles and hymnals. They took away ...

581. Give Thanks--For You!

Luke 19:11-27

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A mirror in the bottom of a box. Good morning, boys and girls. In just a minute I want to show you the most beautiful and marvelous thing that God ever created. But first of all I want to read you something. Pablo Casals was a great musician. One day he said a very wise thing about boys and girls like yourselves. I want you to listen very carefully to what he says: "When will we teach our children in school what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. ...

582. A Giving Incarnation

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the Old Country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities. Early one chilly morning an American soldier was making his way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was kneading dough ...

583. The Self-Giving Mother

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

About 6:00 A.M. on a Wednesday morning James Lawson of Running Springs, California (in the San Bernardino mountains) left home to apply for a job. About an hour later his thirty-six-year-old wife Patsy left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside—accompanied by her two children, five-year-old Susan and two-year-old Gerald—to be dropped off at the baby-sitter's. Unfortunately, they never got that far. Eight and a half hours later the man found his wife and daughter dead in their ...

584. Give it To Me Straight Doc

Humor

A joke told by Reagan: I try to remember the case of the gentleman who went in for a physical examination and then said to the doctor, "Okay. Give it to me straight. I can take it." And the doctor said, "Let me put it to you this way. Eat the best part of the chicken first."

585. Easter Understanding

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Edward Schillebeeckx, an outstanding Roman Catholic New Testament Scholar, some twenty years ago published in Holland his work titled The Understanding of Faith. Schillebeeckx made a most incisive effort to explain how Christians can understand their faith in the modern world. In doing so, he also had to carefully delineate the function of language in general. There are definite rules for the use of language. There are rules for the interpretation of language. Not only must Christians ask how the ...

586. Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night

Isaiah 21:11-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

To strangers the plains of Eastern Montana seem barren, especially in late autumn. The horizon appears endlessly flat, and only occasionally above the plain a low row of hills pushes up -- sometimes just a large bump of ground. Homesteaders built a small frame church upon one such rise, and it has stood since 1912, spared prairie fires, but not free from time's toll. For safety the steeple was removed and the roof sags six inches in the middle of the span. But every season and every week, worship is held. ...

587. Living By Faith

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Come, let us gather together all who seek to live for Christ! People: For the ways of the world are so alluring and full of temptations. Leader: But the world's standards are not God's standards at all. People: Then let us seek to know and follow the life-giving ways of the Lord. Leader: And let us join in song and worship for God's mercy and grace. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, You are Holy and without equal, and yet You have been so loving, merciful, and ...

588. Life-Giving Water

Revelation 21:1-27

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

Object: Two opaque water glasses, one with water in it. Water is an important gift from God that we use every day in many ways. What do you think I have in this glass? Water? Milk? Kool-Aid? I have water in this glass. Now watch the color as I pour it out of this glass into the other glass. What color is the water? It isn’t any color, is it? What do we use water for? (Let the children answer.) We drink it, take baths and showers in it; we wash our dirty hands with it; we play in it at the swimming pool. ...

589. The Way the World Is

Illustration

King Duncan

It would be nice now that the Cold War is over if we could totally eliminate our defense establishment with the knowledge that no nation would ever commit aggression against its neighbor again. But that's not the way the world is. Winston Churchill used to tell a parable about a zoo in which all the animals decided to disarm. They arranged `peace talks' to work out the details. The rhinoceros asked for a strict ban against the use of teeth in war. The stag and porcupine agreed, but the lion and tiger ...

590. Grace to You, and Peace

Revelation 1:4b-8

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

The weeklong pastor's training event was about halfway through its course and the pastor coordinating the event was enjoying her break with a leisurely stroll across the grounds. But what began as a beautiful leisurely spring day soon turned somewhat anxious when she returned to her room and found a message taped to her door, "Call the bishop's assistant as soon as possible." She spent part of the afternoon playing phone tag between class sessions. "Whatever could it be?" she pondered. The week was flowing ...

591. Our Prayers Are Our Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands — one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands — one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. How many of us memorized these words as part of our morning classroom ritual in elementary school? Probably most folks gathered here. Some of us still recite ...

592. We Want It Our Way

Mark 10:17-31

Illustration

Thomas Peterson

The story of Faust by Goethe has become part of our heritage. Faust was a man who longed for romance, academic success, and wealth. Unable to find these on his own, he made a pact with the devil. If he could be granted his wishes, have his true worth made public and enjoy its fruits, then he would give his soul to the devil. Sure enough, he enjoyed marvelous romances, fabulous successes, and much wealth. Oddly enough, when the time came, he was unwilling to keep his part of the bargain. I wonder if there ...

593. Wednesday: The Way Of The Cross: Oooh, That Smell

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A little girl hugged her grandmother and said, "Mmmmm! You smell so wonderful, Grandmother! Is that Oil of Old Lady?" (1) Have you ever noticed how a particular smell or aroma can bring back memories. You smell something and before you know it your mind has taken you back to when you were a child. There's one aroma that immediately brings me back to boyhood and that's the aroma of chicken frying. I'm not talking about KFC or Chicken Express. I'm talking about hand battered skillet fried chicken. Because we ...

594. The Supernatural Witness to the Significance of Jesus’s Death

Mark 15:42-47

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The taunts from the onlookers, soldiers, and leaders are overturned by God’s supernatural intervention in the tearing of the veil and the unconscious testimony of the centurion to the true nature of the one crucified. Understanding the Text The events in verses 38–41 and the burial in verses 42–47 provide the aftermath of Jesus’s death and a transition to his resurrection. The mockery and horror of his crucifixion lead to the divine affirmation of the actual significance of his death, and both ...

595. Choosing One's Way

Illustration

Viktor Frankl

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

596. A Family Gives Their Home

Luke 22:7-38

Children's Sermon

Donald Neidigk

Object: front doorknob with lock Hi, boys and girls. What a nice looking group of children! Can anyone here tell me what God's house is? Yes, it's a church building where we gather for worship. It's also our bodies where God's Holy Spirit lives. I bet you never realized that something else is God's house, too. Can you guess what it is? It's the home where you live! I brought something to show you. Can you tell me what it is? Yes, it's a doorknob from the front door of a house. Who would you let into your ...

597. Facing Death

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

April Yamasaki

“That was a good funeral.” Before becoming a pastor, I wouldn’t have understood what she meant, but now I could agree with this senior member of my church. We had just said goodbye to one of our dear saints who had been an active volunteer in the church and community until she had fallen ill, who had remained on good terms with all of her family who surrounded her with love and care, who had been a woman of prayer and faithful to the end. At her funeral, we sang some of her favorite songs, read words of ...

598. Forgiven

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Instead of making new year’s resolutions, each year I like to choose a key word to help set my direction for the coming year. One year I chose “wonder,” which for me meant being curious, exploring new things, and asking questions. It meant being filled with wonder at God’s creation and work in the world and in my own life. That year it seemed as if the word had chosen me, for as soon as I settled on “wonder” as my word for the year, I started seeing wonder everywhere. This year I chose “blossom,” and when ...

599. Hold Your Peace

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

John G. Lynn

Taylor Caldwell, in her book about Luke, Dear and Glorious Physician, tells how the gospel writer as a young boy sat near the window of his girlfriend, the daughter of a Roman tribune. Luke, in the story, a freed slave's son, really had no business in the courtyard of the tribune, no matter how he felt about his daughter. As he stood there, leaning on a fountain in the courtyard, gazing toward the window of her room, he held in his hand a small, smooth stone. When the tribune noticed the boy he blurted out ...

600. Christian Values Vengeance

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47, Psalm 94:1-23

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Leader: The Lord has said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay. I put to death and I bring to life. I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver from my hand." Congregation: When we are offended, remind us that vengeance is yours, Lord. You see the whole picture; you know best who has done wrong and how to correct him. Leader: "O Lord, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth," David cried, "Rise up, O judge of the earth: pay back to the proud what they deserve.... how ...

Showing results