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 651 to 675 of 928 results

651. Exclusive: The Ugliest Word

Mark 9:38-41, Acts 10:23b-48

Illustration

Bishop Kenneth Carder

... language?" After a few minutes Sandburg replied, "Exclusive." The ugliness of exclusive depends upon whether we are among the included or the excluded. We pride ourselves on being members of exclusive clubs, living in exclusive neighborhoods, dining at exclusive restaurants, vacationing at exclusive resorts, belonging to exclusive churches. Being an insider carries with it a sense of pride and security. Most of us, however, have been excluded often enough to agree that exclusive is an ugly word. When we are ...

652. Compassion Can Do More Than You May Think

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

... them are rejoicing over a new job, having graduated, having received a scholarship, or are looking forward to being married to a person with whom they wish to spend the rest of their lives. Maybe they have just moved into a new home or are off on a vacation of a lifetime. Who knows, one of those strangers might have just won the lottery. Why focus so much on the losses of life instead of the gains? Well, maybe, because on the whole, in this life, there may just be more losses than gains, more sorrows than ...

653. Father, Forgive Them!

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... of this horrific act that Jesus is the supreme example of innocent suffering. His witness to us is that even there, even at the point of torture and death, when he should feel most vulnerable and exposed, he shows us that God's love never takes a vacation. His example is our good fortune in understanding that there is one reality that remains when all seems to be darkness, and that is, in the end, God prevails even over death! H. G. Wells wrote a story titled, "The Country of the Blind." In it, he ...

654. Building God’s Kingdom: The Christian Challenge

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... that traveled outward at almost supersonic speed in all directions. It created death, destruction, dislocation, and mayhem for literally millions of people in some ten nations that border the northeast regions of the Indian Ocean. Thousands of people, tourists on vacation lying on the pristine white sand beaches in the area, local fisherman and their families plying their trade, children playing in coastal areas, trains ferrying people to many locations, were swept away by a tidal surge that came with a ...

655. The Dream

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

John Jamison

... house and was taking a different way home than usual. He was coming up Route 17, you know, about where the grocery store is? Well, according to the police report, there was a car coming the other way on the highway, a family in a station wagon coming home from vacation. As they got to the grocery store, the wife asked her husband to pull in to the store so she could get some milk. Since they had been gone, they would need some fresh milk for the next morning. As he pulled into the parking lot, she said that ...

656. Itchy Ears

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... go crazy. This abduction of Persephone is any major betrayal that abducts you and takes you to places you never wanted to go. I think of unexpected poverty. Like the man sitting on the beach with his wife, reading the paper, "Maud we are no longer on vacation, the company folded." Abductions into the underground happen to lots and lots of people. The people themselves are not evil. But our responses can be evil. We can let disappointment kill us or we can find our way through. We can deny that we itch. We ...

657. Compared to Eternity

Mark 10:17-31

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Just suppose that my wife and I took a two-week vacation in beautiful Destin, Florida. And, suppose that after only one day there, we liked it so much that we transferred our bank account down' there, sold our home here and purchased one there, and registered to vote in Florida. You would say, "Bill, that is dumb. You're coming home ...

658. The Undoing of Babel

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Several years ago, my wife and I took a vacation where we drove to Mexico City in an old Volkswagen van. Neither of us speak Spanish, but along the primary route down and in Mexico City itself, we had no trouble communicating because many people there spoke English. After spending a few days in that city, we decided to make ...

659. God's Eminent Domain

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... grandparents worked so hard to till, or for which you struggled so long to purchase is deemed the best land available for a new shopping mall. The appraisers will soon be checking out your home to determine its fair market value and you are expected to vacate. For a group of homeowners in New London, Connecticut, this nightmare became reality when the city attempted to force them to sell their property to make way for a hotel and other private facilities. In June of 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-to ...

660. A Day of Singing

Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... be sure, but they were symbols of Christmas giving. There was a shiny new car for Dad and a red motor boat, some golf clubs, a new suit, some sweaters, and an all‑weather coat. Mom found her dream house and a diamond necklace, dresses, coats, and a vacation cruise. Most of the make‑believe presents were for little Pete. There were pictures of a camping tent, a new bicycle, a pedal car, and all kinds of toys and games. Now, of course, Mom and Dad didn’t expect anything from little Pete. But Pete, with ...

661. “Unto Us A Child Is Born... Next, On Omar”

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

... mike. If the audience doesn’t applaud, the child should point to the sign and say, “Can’t you read?” Child then sits on chair, next to the platform, stage right.) Omar: Thank you, thank you. It’s good to see all of you after our two-week vacation. Yeah, we were off in Jerusalem for a bit, doing that census thing to register, just like everybody else. That’s right, even celebrities had to do it. You’d think being on television would give you some privileges. But, Jacob tells me you had a bit of ...

662. Every Day God Enriches

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 's cooking. Suddenly, I have discovered I can't remember the menu of a single meal. And yet....I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death years ago." (2) You know, we may not remember every Sunday School lesson, Vacation Bible School or Youth Group Lessons we've ever heard. We may not remember every sermon point, or illustration we've heard. But I do know this, God's Word impacts our lives, feeds and nourishes us. Worship, prayer, devotion, the music and even the sermon ...

663. Living In The Spirit Of Faithfulness

Galatians 5:22-25, Hebrews 10:23-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A church secretary spent her vacation at the beach. As she sunned herself, a little boy in his swim suit approached her and politely asked her a series of questions. "Miss, do you believe in God?" The woman was taken aback a little but said she did. Then the little boy asked, "Do you go to ...

664. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Friends

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... it out." (1) One of the greatest human longings and desires is to be close to someone through the bond of friendship. Friends offer us companionship. Friends offer us support and help. Someone wrote, "A good friend or neighbor is one who watches your vacation slides all evening and never mentions that he has been there too." (2) Another wrote, "Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life." (3) Jesus had a lot of disciples but Scripture only really records three friends. They were Mary, Martha ...

665. Joshua People: Remember, Remind and Recommit

Joshua 24:14-18, 2 Peter 1:10-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... everything around us seem so unstable. We need to remind ourselves and others that God is still in charge. Just because times got tough doesn't mean God gave up. We need to remind ourselves and others that Jesus is still working. God will never take a vacation. As long as people seek God and even when the quit seeking God, God will continue to seek them. God in Christ is looking for people who are hurting, people who are lonely, people who are scared, people at a loss, people who are bound by addictions ...

666. First Class Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the whole idea of Becoming Ensnared. (Watch: Up Clip) If you haven't seen it, The basic story is about the adventures of Carl and Russell. Carl Fredricksen is a 78-year-old man, stuck in the past and stuck in his house which he has been ordered to vacate by the city to make way for high rise office buildings. Carl thwarts them by tying thousands of balloon to his home and sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, Carl learns he isn't alone on ...

667. Discover the Promise of Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... every time we do that don't you? The operative word is forget. So we come to worship, we come to the programs at Church and in our families, we watch old movies like It's A Wonderful Life, Scrooged, A Christmas Carol, National Lampoon's Family Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story with Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB Gun. We even watch some the TV specials trying to recapture that elusive feeling. We come with longing. We come to the Advent season hoping that God will once again meet us face to face while ...

668. Saturday: The Week Of The Cross: Lazarus, Come Forth

John 11:1-7, 17-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ) In 1871 a Christian lawyer from Chicago named Horatio Spafford lost his only son. A few months later he lost his entire life's saving when the Great Chicago Fire destroyed all of his real estate investments. In 1873, he and his family decided to take a European vacation. But at the last minute he was delayed by business. He placed his wife and four daughters on the S.S. Ville de Havre sailing from New York to France. He fully expected to leave on another ship to join them in about three or four days. On ...

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

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... front of the lockers crying. He never said a word. He just walked over, sat down in between them and put his arms on their shoulders and started crying with them." That's a poured out life. Especially when you find out that Professor Smith took vacation days to go to Missouri, went at his own expense, and the only reason he went was to encourage the team. (5) C. Or how about William Wilberforce whose passionate stand and battle against slavery finally saw the slave trade abolished in the British Empire on ...

670. Compliments Of The House

Psalm 23:6

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... one of the interesting things about Aunt Viola was that she collected salt and pepper shakers. She had display case after display case of her unusual collection. We could and did spend hours and hours looking at them all. One of the goals we all had when we were on vacation was to try and find a salt and pepper shaker that Aunt Viola didn't have. Anyway, gather at Aunt Viola's was an all day event. We usually go there about 10:00 am or so. And we'd all turn to helping Uncle Warner set up the picnic ...

671. Nehemiah: The Fix

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!" At the time, I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah was a man of great faith. And he needed that faith and everything we learned in Vacation Bible School to complete the task God had placed on his heart, which was to rebuild the walls around the city of Jerusalem. Those wall were the cities protection from it's enemies. They had been torn down by some enemies who had overthrown Jerusalem and now ...

672. A Chance To Be Made Whole

Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... with the hemorrhage or the woman caught in adultery. There's an old story about an atheist who was very vocal about his beliefs. He never let an opportunity to deny the existence of God go by. He truly was a thorn in the flesh. He decided to go on vacation to Scotland one year and chose to visit Loch Ness. He was fascinated with the myth of the Loch Ness monster. He rented a little boat and decided to go out on the lake by himself. He was enjoying himself when all of a sudden the Loch Ness monster appeared ...

673. Who Touched The Remote Control?

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... love, friendship, respect, indulgence and admiration. Within a Christian support system we experience both the human and divine through experiencing God's grace and forgiveness through the lives of others. Conclusion Grandma and Grandpa were driving across Kansas on vacation with their five-year-old granddaughter. They were enjoying the sights, especially the beautiful fields of corn. The wind was blowing hard and Grandma commented: "Looks like the wind could blow the corn down." Their five-year-old ...

674. The Miss, The Kiss, The Mess, The Rest

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , you CAN say NO! to temptation. You CAN say NO! to temptation. It's best to say NO! to temptation because temptation always invites us to take one step too far. Some time back I read about a young man who was the very curious type. While vacationing at the Grand Canyon, he ignored the safety rails, actually climbed over them and stepped out on a ledge to get better pictures. Unfortunately, he took one step too far, the ledge gave way and he plummeted to his death. We underestimate the power of temptation ...

675. When the Wine Fails

John 2:1-11

Illustration

John K. Bergland

... moment? For me such days are filled with extraordinary hope and joy. For me it was the birth of my daughter because it was shared with my wife and family. [state yours]. Life involves many happy affairs the birth of a child, the gatherings of Christmas, a summer vacation. It is often said that to love and be loved is the greatest happiness in the world. For most of us, then, the most significant movement of hope and joy is our wedding day. It's the day we celebrate before God and all our friends the love ...

Showing results