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 601 to 625 of 1249 results

601. Good Neighbors

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... foster parents were violent drunks. His second foster mother treated him like a dog. Bobby's only prayer at night was to find a family who loved him. When Bobby was 12 years old, an older couple named Arnold and Mary Petterson wanted to adopt him. The authorities tried to discourage them. This child was "damaged goods," they said. His school records noted, "This boy needs to be institutionalized. He will never amount to anything." But the moment that Arnold and Mary Petterson met Bobby, they determined to ...

602. On Names That Preach

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... who gave specific instructions to name the child "Jesus" (the equivalent of the Hebrew yeshua, "salvation"). The angel explained the name "Jesus" by revealing the sermon contained within, "for He shall save His people from their sins." When we become followers of Christ we adopt that family name and are called Christians. That name is something of which we are rightly proud. "/ am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation " (Romans 1: 16). We have no reason to hide or ...

603. Gathered Around The Throne

Revelation 7:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... be remembered. Would it surprise you if I tell you there are Christians even today who are dying for their faith? I don't know how to make that real for us. We live such insulated, protected lives. We find it difficult to relate to people for whom adopting the Christian faith means putting their very lives at risk. Many of us find it difficult to relate not only to their situation, but also their willingness to make this sacrifice. We're not sure we could do it. Maybe our souls are at greater risk than we ...

604. Sympathizing With The One Talent Man

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... have read it. It is from Romans 8, beginning with the fourteenth verse as translated by J.B. Phillips: All who follow the leading of God's Spirit are God's own sons. Nor are you meant to relapse into the old slavish attitude of fear--you have been adopted into the very family circle of God and you can say with a full heart, "Father, my Father." The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God. (4) There is the good news that the one talent man needs to hear. We are ...

605. Taking Time To Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... Henry, "and he is doing better now." "All I can say to you, Paul," Cronin muttered, "is that you are a mighty lucky fellow." "And Dr. Cronin," Henry Adams interrupted, "you don't need to bother trying to pronounce his name any more. He is Paul Adams. We have adopted him." (3) Now that's the kind of love that the world really needs. Take time to love, my friends. Love those closest to you. But do more than that. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Learn to love every person with whom you come into contact. That ...

606. Drinking From His Cup

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... Payton did on a hill near his home in the offseason. When he threw up, he quit for the day. (5) Greatness has its price. "Are you able to drink from the cup from which I drink?" Jesus asked his ambitious disciples. I am amazed how many people adopt the Christian faith as their own with the thought that it really won't cost them anything. Friends, the cup Jesus drank was the cup of the cross. The sacrifice he made was ultimate, complete, and final. If we think that we can achieve greatness in the Kingdom ...

607. First Things First

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Then Young read a newspaper article about extreme poverty among elderly Native Americans living on reservations. Something about the story touched Robert Young. He called the number listed in the paper to ask how he could help. Robert soon enlisted in an “Adopt-a-Grandparent” program. He was matched with a 78-year-old woman named Katherine Red Feather. Robert went to visit Katherine. He was stunned by the poverty he saw all around him. Whole families lived in broken-down cars. Plywood shacks passed ...

608. God's Witness Security Program

1 John 3:1-3

Sermon

King Duncan

... what we are. You are a child of God. The Bible says that all those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are the children of God. God loves all of God’s creation, but only those who have Jesus’ Spirit living in them are adopted into God’s family. Playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith remembers one of the earliest lessons her grandfather taught her. He used to say, “If you say a word often enough, it becomes you.” Sounds like a simple lesson, doesn’t it? But it reveals the huge ...

609. RULER OF THE WORLD

Drama

Angela Akers

... how would all this housework have been done?" Man: "Cleanliness is overrated, my love. If men ruled the world, we''d never even bother with stuff like lint." Woman: "No, you''d wait until all the lint formed great, big dust bunnies, and then you''d adopt them as pets." Man: "Not a bad idea. Yesiree, lots of things would be different if men ruled the world. Why are you laughing?" Woman: "I could just see this world if men ruled over it." Man: "And what''s so funny about it?" Woman ...

610. The Devil Is a Liar

John 8:42-47

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... deliver. Or, Jesus may have been thinking of His own time of temptation in the wilderness when the devil took Him to the top of a high mountain and showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world, and promised to give them to Him if He would only adopt the devil’s methods...as though they were his to give! I admit that sometimes they look as though they belonged to the devil, but Jesus knew better. He said, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ “ (Matt ...

611. Whatever became of Kingdomtide?

John 16:17-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... it. Nobody was quite sure just where it went. It just seems to have gotten misplaced somehow. Further research into the problem led me to the discovery that Kingdomtide was a uniquely American invention, first proposed by the old Federal Council of Churches and later adopted by the National Council of Churches. It never really “caught on,” except among the people called Methodists who put it into their Book of Worship in 1964. And they took it out some three decades later. But why? Did we take it out in ...

612. Jesus and the Baptists

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... brought up by them. Since his parents were elderly when he was born, (Luke 1:7) they presumably, died when he was quite young. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus tells us that it was the custom of the Essenes to do just just such a thing: adopt an orphan boy and raise him as one of them. (WARS OF THE JEWS, 2.8.2) We do know that John, like the Essenes, had strange dietary habits, wore strange clothes and reduced life down to its simplest essentials. Mark’s Gospel says that he ate locusts ...

613. Knight of the Woeful Countenance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... so-called rich young ruler ever hoped to be! And is certainly richer compared to most of the world’s people. Somebody has facetiously developed a flyer called “THE AMERICAN FOSTER PARENT PLAN.” The brochure reads like this; “POOR NATION!” Adopt an American! For only $26,000 per year you can provide the basic necessities of life: television, roller skates, and twinkies. For years you Third World countries have subsidized American gluttony. Now you can be specific and choose your individual American ...

614. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... than mere duration, the sort of existence suggested by a famous epitaph on a tombstone: “Don’t bother me now; don’t bother me never, I’m going to do nothing forever and ever.” (Never mind about hereafter, I know some folks who have adopted that as their philosophy here and now!) We make a distinction between “living” and merely “existing,” do we not? The New Testament word “eternal” refers to a quality of life live in love and fellowship with God, (depth), and not merely a quantity of ...

615. Childish or Child-like?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... a friend around his church, and, referring to the sound system, said, “We have a number of dead spots in this church.” The clergy friend said, “So do we all, brother, so do we all.” Enthusiasm is one child-like attitude we can all adopt to our benefit. In 1985, the LOS ANGELES TIMES ran a beautiful human interest story. It happened a few days after the disastrous earthquake in Mexico City. A little Japanese-American boy was going door-to-door in Los Angeles selling picture postcards for twenty ...

616. What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I find it strange that, in a time when we are becoming more and more sensitive toward persons with handicapping conditions, our nation’s State Department would adopt a policy which effectively eliminates blind persons from foreign service positions. As the editorial in the Ann Arbor News put it, “It’s probably a good thing Helen Keller isn’t alive today to apply for a job with the U.S. foreign services, They’d turn her down, flat.” ( ...

617. Holy Tuesday

Mark 11:27-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... �A Call for Authority in the Christian Community,” THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY, October 27, 1971, p. 1262) Though written nearly two decades ago, his words seem no less applicable to the 1990s. People have either lost faith in their former religious certainties, or they have adopted a blind faith in other certainties which seem to some of us to rest on shaky foundations. As an old country preacher once said, “It ain’t all the things that people don’t know that troubles me; it’s all the things they know ...

618. Bread for Everyone (I am the bread of life)

John 6:1-15, John 6:25-59

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... work." This is where the satisfaction and staying power comes from. The only work I know which can satisfy this inward hunger is the mission of building God''s kingdom revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. This is bread with a capital "B." People who adopt the philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry--usually are not merry or full of joy. This philosophy can only provide bread with a small "b." It will eventually lead to an empty dish and an empty life. William Broyles, Jr., was senior editor of Newsweek ...

619. Love: The Greatest Commandment and the Greatest Challenge

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... highest cost of all. Love is a costly commitment, not mere convenience. Lastly, to love at all is to have experienced the grace of God. We can''t share what we haven''t experienced or refused to experience. A colleague, Steve Brown, tells the story of adopting a German Shepherd he later named Calvin. The problem with the dog, Steve said, was that his first owner mistreated and beat the dog. Every time he tried to pat him, Calvin would run or cower on the floor, waiting to be hit harshly. Steve Brown then ...

620. Christianity and Conflict: Dual Citizenship (Part VII)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... they have received from Christ. I remember an old Methodist lay preacher who once said, "The problem with church today is that you can''t tell the difference from it and other worldly organizations." When the church is not worthy to be crucified, it has adopted other values and norms. Jesus Christ was not placed on the cross because he went along with the status quo! "Aw, don''t give us that Bible stuff, Pastor." THE CHRISTIAN FAITH WILL ALWAYS PRODUCE A CONFLICT IN THE PURPOSE OF LIVE FOR A CHRISTIAN ...

621. A New You in a New Year (Part X)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... people, but it doesn't have anything to do with atoms in our physical bodies. We are new people when we have the mind and attitude of Jesus Christ living inside us. This is the priority that the Apostle Paul urged the Christians at Philippi to adopt for the living out of their faith. It was Dr. Stanley Menking, when he taught at Drew Seminary, who impressed upon me the necessity of time management--not as a legalistic requirement, but as a resource for ministry to prevent the minor things from crowding out ...

622. The Power of a God-Shaped Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to raise above the maddening crowd and live out the life of Jesus in our hearts and minds. I believe it is safe to assume that if Paul would give a listing of proper thoughts it presupposes there are attitudes and thought patterns we are not to adopt in our lives. I love the story of a Christian businessman who had retired to California with his charming wife. Every time a friend would come to visit them, the husband very proudly gave the grand tour of their beautiful new home. After he had shown off his ...

623. A Soul Restored

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... sheep have a very poor sense of direction, and to complicate the problem, they have extremely poor eyesight. They get lost very easily. I remember in my last congregation, a family shared with me that they had tried to get rid of a stray cat they had adopted. On three different occasions they took this cat to a location, let it out and even drove home a different way, but each time this cat reappeared. They finally kept the cat. It had a "homing instinct"--sheep do not. The way sheep and other livestock are ...

624. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part V)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . It takes courage to say "NO" to alcohol. It takes courage to say "YES" to Jesus Christ. Yes, courage! Where does it come from? Courage must come from the Lord. Cynicism, however, comes when we rely on our own strength and striving. Cynicism comes when we adopt the ways and prevailing models of culture rather than the Biblical models and principles. It takes courage to run the good race and fight the good fight. Cynicism joins the "Rat Race" and joins the chorus of those who sing the "I cannot do anything ...

625. Maundy Thursday: Two Memorials

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... life. 2,000 years ago, an itinerant Jewish Rabbi gathered 12 fighting, arguing disciples into an upper room for a Passover meal. This group contained tax collectors, fishermen, and other common people. This group had some initial thoughts of greatness but they adopted their Master''s program of servanthood. People are still meeting today, because of that meeting. They had plenty of purpose. They died, but not in despair. The meal they shared is now celebrated in over 150 countries around the world. Tonight ...

Showing results