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 1131 results

601. Tired of Trying?

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... and 11. James wanted them to continue to live as a colony in an alien world. Their witness was important to spread the Kingdom. He wanted them to look to the heavens as Anne Frank did and not allow the world''s temptation to seduce them into an early surrender and resignation. Very quickly today, I want to share three reasons we should have patience and not grow "Tired of Trying" to do God''s will. First, James did not want Christians to live a half-hearted life. He wanted them to live out the truths of the ...

602. Mother's Day

Proverbs 1:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... that simply having children does not make one a mother--only the Holy Spirit can accomplish such an awesome task in our lives. Being a mother-- if that is God''s will for your life--is not a position of status but a place of service and surrender to the perfect will of God. I believe, and many women have told me, that motherhood grants a purpose to life far greater than anything IBM and ATT could ever grant. This is why Proverbs 31:25 says of motherhood, "strength and beauty and dignity are her clothing ...

603. The Reality of Fear--The Power of Faith

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... a servant--long before he judges the "ability" of the person. David fighting Goliath would be like Mother Theresa fighting Charles Barkley. Notice how he describes his confidence in God, "The Lord will deliver out of the hands of the Philistine." When you surrender your hands to God, you always shift control from the enemy to the most excellent hands in the world. Dr. R. Maurice Boyd, who often preaches at the Ocean City Tabernacle, tells the story he learned about the English preacher, G. Campbell Morgan ...

604. The Dark Didn't Catch Me!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... of college I'll commit myself to you then!" God took his hand and surveyed in a flash of insight the rubble of idols in my life -- football, popularity, girlfriends, unfulfillment. And I saw that it was no good apart from him. I sighed and with a simple prayer of surrender prayed, "Why not." There and then a great feeling swept over me. It was as if someone had opened the door of a hot, stuffy attic in August and let in the cool, scented spring air of May. And for the first time since I was twelve years old ...

605. What Goes on When He Comes in?

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... are -- even if you are in despair of yourself, even if you have forfeited the love of those nearest and dearest to you. Such is God's love for you. Never, never forget it! And when that love is "poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" and we surrender to it, some amazing things begin to happen. We begin to realize that love is the only power that is able to save this world of ours. We've tried other means only to be disillusioned time and time again because every other method has been applied externally ...

606. Grace in the Midst of Hopelessness

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... one of the most electrifying speeches of the last century. It was precisely five words. Churchill said, "Never, never, never give up." He then sat down. Given the chance to say anything, Churchill urged an assembly of students never to surrender. Indeed, his own unyielding resolve, dominating physical presence, and inspiring words were monumental factors in the maintenance of Allied hope during World War II. Nevertheless our dearest dreams and our deepest commitments are vulnerable in a fallen world. "Never ...

607. Grace in the Midst of Exasperation

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... Holy Spirit whispers to us, "Don't lose heart. You belong to God. You are God's child. You have been rescued by grace and you will never be rejected." Yet how can we believe that, especially when we continue to make the same stupid mistakes and surrender to the same sick desires of our old natures? Here is the wonderful answer: God has already given us the status of righteousness. But we still don't have the reality of righteousness. God looks at Christians right now as God's perfect children, even though ...

608. Grace in the Midst of Judgment

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... ultimate sacrifice for another soldier. As he lies dying, Hanks' eyes meet the eyes of his living comrade. "Earn this," he gasps with his final breath. Earn this? How could such a gift possibly be earned? Only one equation makes sense: a life for a life. We are called to surrender all former claims to our own existence so that we might be reborn to a new kind of life -- one lived not for ourselves but for the One who graciously gave his life for us.

609. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... left hand. Even on this, the occasion of their last night together, the disciples are arguing amongst themselves which one is the greatest and who deserves the seat of honor at the table. James and John remind us that if we are to follow Jesus we must first surrender ego. We must decrease so that he might increase. We must remember the words of Jesus: He, who would be greatest among you, must be a servant. Or maybe we see ourselves in Nathaniel. He reminds us of the prejudice that is in our land and in our ...

610. Lord of All

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... away all obstacles to his Lordship. This forceful wind which is the Divine Breath fills the heart that is purified with hope and love. This Old Testament lesson reminds us that quick fixes, magical cures, and false gods do not get the job done. But to those who surrender their lives completely to God, the prophet has a word of deep encouragement. It is this: God is the one who does not faint or grow weary, but God gives power to the faint and strength to the powerless. The God of Second Isaiah is our God ...

611. Servants Without Portfolio

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... something else. He’s calling us to be servants. And when we make this choice, we give up the right to be in charge, and that’s the most difficult thing that you and I can do. But the amazing thing is that when we make that decision, when we surrender our right to be in charge, we experience great freedom. We become available and vulnerable, and we lose our fear of being stepped on or manipulated or taken advantage of, and aren’t these our fears. I hear it all the time, I feel it all the time. You hear ...

612. Breaking The Negative Cycle

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’s anything more devastating to daily living, to our effective functioning, to creative and growing relationships, and nothing is more dramatically counter to the Christian spirit and style than to be ensnarled in a negative cycle. On every level of life, it is easy to surrender to the negative forces that sap our energy and drag us down. At a conference for ministers, groups were organized into small units for dialogue. They were to begin by using one word to describe the world as they saw it today or as ...

613. Living Lightly

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it’s like this. I’m still kicking, but I ain’t raising any dust.” We live like that. We live like that, breathing but not breathless about life. The problem is that most of us don’t live. We are lived. That is we’re driven. We passively surrender to the forces of our environment and allow them to determine our lives. We close our eyes, stop our ears, and muddle through our 70 years of time. No wonder Paul said, don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mold. Do you remember the book ...

614. Such A Babe In Such A Place

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... which we cannot free ourselves. They don’t cleanse the dirtiness that smudges and mires our souls. They don’t set right the dislocation and the disunity of our inner being. The salvation of Jesus does. Those who have sought and found him accepted his forgiveness and surrendered themselves to him, they know. They know that the good news of great joy is the news of salvation, of new birth, and new life. Such a babe in such a place. Can he be the savior? Ask a person who knows. A married couple’s eldest ...

615. Servants Of The Servant Who Was Lord

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Greek word for being. It describes what a person is in essence. That which cannot be changed, the innate, unchangeable characteristics of a person, through chances and changes and all circumstances, this being essence remains the same. Paul, I think, would not regard as possible, the surrender by Christ of his divine nature. His own experience of the risen Lord was such a vital factor in the formation of his thought, that he who had come to mean so much to him, surely did not begin to exist when he was born ...

616. Working Out Our Salvation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... one occasion, “I don’t even know when it was put, I don’t even remember answering, but at some moment I did answer, yes, to someone. And from that hour, I was certain that life was meaningful for me, and that therefore my life, in self-surrender, has a goal.” That statement not only witnesses to obedience but to servanthood. And the who, the who whom always puts the question, is God. And that brings us to the most radical of our two words – abandonment. Obedience is essential for working out our ...

617. What Really Matters The Price Of The High Calling

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of the United Nations - a modern mystic who wrote so beautifully and with such clarity about his own life and commitment. He said that from the time of saying yes to the call, he was certain that existence had meaning and that his life in self-surrender had a goal. He concluded that witness by saying, from that moment, I have known what it means to leave the past behind, not to look back, and to have thought of tomorrow. The Christian – drawn by the powerful impulsion of a personal relationship with Jesus ...

618. Getting It All Together Inside

Psalm 51:1-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to live a life a transparency, sharing with Christ and others, when it seems right, that about ourselves which we are discovering. When we become conscious of some hidden hurt, some pushed down pain, some unconfessed sin, we bring that out into the open with Christ, surrender it to him, and allow him to heal and forgive as needed. And finally, five, we live in the present – now get this – we live in the present in such a way that we do not store up for the future anything that will ravage our lives ...

619. Constantly Abiding

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... what the Christian life is all about. It is not our working for God, it is our allowing God to work through us. It is not service unto the oldness of the letter, but it’s service in the newness of the spirit. Not trying but trusting, not straining but surrendering. Is it coming clear? Not only are we saved by grace, we are to live by grace. But how? That’s still the question. How do we allow grace to operate in our lives by allowing Christ to be alive in us? Here are some practices that I have found ...

620. Saints In The Light

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a moment. First, discerning God’s will. That is our task ñ and it is not easy — to discern God’s will. Let me make a very blatant statement that I think speaks to a false understanding of too many Christians. It is a surrender of our identity as human beings and a blasphemy against God to give in to the pain, hopelessness, and helplessness we feel, the gnawing doubts that haunt us by passing through our struggles, conflicts, pain, disillusionment, and despair with the superficial affirmation, “It ...

621. The Secret: Christ In You

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... This is the heart of it: Christ the Lord of Creation may live in us. His dwelling in us is the ultimate mystery and the hope of glory. We talk about becoming Christian in ways like this: accepting Christ, inviting Christ into our lives, receiving Christ, surrendering our lives to Christ, giving our lives to Christ, being born again by allowing Christ to be born in us, receiving Christ as Savior. Whatever the language, the faith and experience is that as we confess and repent of our sins, we are forgiven; we ...

622. A Confidence for All Seasons

Psalm 27:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Psalm suggests. The whole area of protection, divine protection. Many of you still remember the story that took place back in 1984 in Mason, Tennessee. Louise DeGraffenreid (degraffenread) astounded the nation when she persuaded an escaped convict from a Tennessee prison to surrender. He came brandishing a gun, and with the gun he thought he was in control. He had surprised Nathan, Louise's husband, outside their modest home and forced him inside at gun point. Amazingly -- and we learned why it was so in ...

623. A Love For All Seasons (i)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... which errs, if indeed it errs at all, on the side of forgiveness and mercy. Ours is a gospel that is abundantly clear in its counsel toward patience and hope...a gospel that talks about second miles to be traveled, cheeks to be turned, and coats to be surrendered along with cloaks...a gospel that talks about the need to track down the one who is lost at the expense of the 99 who are saved...a gospel that defines the formula for forgiveness as being 70 times 7 (which doesn't mean that you need to forgive ...

624. Noah: The Bearer Of An Alternative Possibility

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a contradiction -- of goodness and grace. Its purpose is redemption, not destruction. "Scanning the horizon of humanity, God found this solitary faithful man; one person who had not sold his soul to the tempter, who had not compromised with evil, who had not surrendered himself to the onslaught of violence, who was "the only good man of his time -- and lived in fellowship with God". (This was Noah, "the bearer of an alternative possibility.") (Jim Harnish, Journeys With the People of Genesis, pp. 25-27) We ...

625. I Am Christ's

2 Corinthians 5:17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to start to become new persons that gives Grace the opportunity to make us new persons. And the start requires two things. It requires imitation and immersion. We begin to walk as we think Christ would have us walk, and we immerse ourselves in Christ -- that is we surrender ourselves to His Spirit within, and allow His grace to make us in fact the new persons we already are in principle. III. And that brings us to the third thing it means to be in Christ. A new source of strength. We are given a new status ...

Showing results