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 776 to 800 of 2404 results

776. PROPER 24

Ruth 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

... of Confession With gratitude, we express our praise to you, O God, for the blessing of family ties. But so often we want to receive from the family more than we contribute. Forgive us when our selfish ways hinder the wholeness which you intend each family member to achieve. Help us so to love, that our lives will be a source of joy in our homes. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Hymns "Children of the Heavenly Father" "Happy the Home when God Is There" "Lord of Life and King of Glory" "O Lord, May Church and ...

777. Cross Work

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

George Bass

... , has this to say: "They knew from their own experience the limitations of paganism - how in spite of its great culture and refinement, one remained a prisoner of the forces of nature; how despite the fantastic intellectual and artistic achievements of paganism, it offered little consolation to the distressed and lonely human heart; how, the beautiful poetic myths and fables of paganism notwithstanding, relatively little was done to satisfy the profound human aspiration for truth and liberty." Through the ...

778. Micah’s Orders

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

... the former pastors: Only three names are there, but under their names is written, "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God." (Micah 6:8) What a tribute, I thought. This church honors its pastors not for the members brought in, or balanced budgets achieved. They are not honored for anything except that they did justice, loved mercy, and walked humbly with their God. As a Pastor, I knew that nothing would please me more than those three things. As a Pastor? As a Christian! As a child of the God ...

779. The Family Reunion

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Glenn L. Borreson

... , but they included also Matthew the tax collector - one regarded as a traitor to his people. And there was John who had a way with words and gentle love, but beside him stood brash, foot-in-the-mouth, impulsive Peter. And there was Judas Iscariot who achieved a great reputation but at the expense of selling out his master, while with him stood disciples whose names we usually end up forgetting. But this is the family Jesus was restoring. In ever-new and surprising ways it came to include women and children ...

780. No Telltale Clues

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

... offers us is the fact that "he rose and followed him." You and I would like to know why. What in the world happened that would cause this man to leave his lucrative administrative post? Why would Matthew throw away the security that he had finally achieved? What would cause this collector of taxes to shut the door on a sure thing in order to follow the man called Jesus into who knows where, for how long, and at what cost? Surely, we speculate, Jesus and Matthew must have met before. They must have ...

781. The Promise of Wholeness

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

... -dollar debt. He has one firm job in his hand, but nothing beyond that. He is filled with self-doubt, fear, and a sense of hopelessness. Given the world in which we live, Nicholas Berg could well exemplify many of us today. Even given our achievements and advancements in our world and lives, many of us seem to be fearful, despairing, hopeless. Israel addressed in today's text found herself in a similar situation. She had been defeated by Babylon. Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple was totally destroyed. The ...

782. One Commandment is Enough!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... , the lack of love from the father may have stunted the child so he/she was starved for parental affection during the formative years. Are we to honor that kind of father and mother? Yes, parents are not honored because of their achievements as parents, nor for sentimental reasons, but they are to be honored and respected in acknowledgment of God's claim upon every individual life. When children disrespect parents, disobey them, provoke them, offend them, receive their correction with impatience, ignore and ...

783. Possession is Nine Tenths of the Fall

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

... of darkness claimed him for their own. (Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, New York, W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1971, 1963, p. 49.) Conrad’s story illustrates dramatically how the possessor can become the possessed, destroyed by the very desire that motivated his achievement. Even religion, meant to be a means of acknowledging God’s ownership and dominion over all life, can be perverted into a subtle human effort to bend the divine will to fit our own purposes, and thus a way of possessing God and ...

784. The Love God Wants

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

... has both inward and outward dimensions. Almost twenty-five years ago, Elizabeth O’Conner wrote a book about the life and ministry of The Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C. She documented how the people of that church had tried to achieve a balance between the contemplative life of spiritual growth and nurture and the practical life of social action. She entitled her book, Journey Inward, Journey Outward (New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1968). That is also an appropriate title for the implied ...

785. When the Poor Become Rich

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... Christ, thus in all things their aim is solely to please God, to be opened to receive his love, to experience the happiness of knowing that life is a gift. They are seldom disappointed by life, for it brings to them far more happiness than they could ever earn or achieve by their own striving. For the poor in spirit, sorrow and pain are real and not to be denied, but they are not afraid or without hope, for they ask, "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31) These are the meek who inherit the ...

786. The Shepherd King

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

... piece by piece. But, after they had executed the first part of their plan, dismantling it completely, they discovered that they could not put it back together again. The bridge was put back together successfully, but they had to use nails and bolts to achieve this result. The mystery of how the building of the bridge was originally accomplished, like that of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, remains to this day, and will probably always be, a mystery. In both cases, the best people can do is ...

787. Seeing the Heights

Illustration

... , we are no longer prisoners of the lowlands; we aspire, we dream, we try - our souls are possessed by a passion to climb. In this time of worship, if you can catch a better view of the heights, then the purpose of this hour shall have been in large measure achieved. For this is a time of looking up - from wherever we are - through the valley fog, above the low-lying mists, that we may see the heights, the bright summits to which God calls us, to which life invites us.

788. Let Christ Speak The Word

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

... story concerns a Roman centurion who was presumably an officer in the Army of Herod Antipas. We need to understand that a centurion was a highly respected and powerful member of the armed forces. He would have had to have been an outstanding individual to have achieved this position, which was the equivalent in rank to a sergeant major in our army of today. Centurions are well thought of throughout the New Testament. We are told that this centurion had a slave who was very dear to him. This gives a clue as ...

789. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Life is composed of a series of choices and experiences. Usually there is an easy way to accomplish a particular task and there is a hard way to achieve the same end. Many people experience addictions, burnout and nervous breakdowns not because of the sheer weight of their life, but because they fight life. Many people have trouble with college, not because college is hard, but because they fight college. Instead of doing something the best they can, and ...

790. Real Strength

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... exhausted, but this beautiful smile was still on her face. The little athlete made her kilometer. She lit the flame of the next runner who was off like a shot. There was a special look of triumph on her face as she stood there. She had achieved something very, very special. And on the side of the road was a motorcycle policeman. He had his plastic helmet up and a huge white handkerchief wiping his eyes. Peter Ueberroth states flatly: "This young lady ... was the finest and strongest athlete that I ever saw ...

791. Compassion

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... and have compassion. The ten may not thank you; your friends may abandon you; your buddies may sell you out, but you go and have compassion. It is a charge that causes us to shiver. Deep down, I think most of us know that in spite of our achievements in technology and medicine, our society is no better off morally and spiritually than those people who heard the original version of this story so long ago. We still haven't found a way to educate people in compassion. We grant more degrees than the world has ...

792. The Holy Spirit Born Again

John 3:1-21

Bulletin Aid

... born again when we are old old and wise in the ways of the world? We know too much to believe in Scripture. Women: How can we believe when science says God did not create because he is not, and society says that God doesn’t matter because man will achieve goodness on his own. Leader: "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." All: Lord, we can believe because of the gift of your ...

793. Managing Our Memories

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Leonard W. Mann

... your mind. Savor and cherish what is a benediction to you. Give large mind-space to what adds to the quality of your life, to what lifts you and boosts you along. In other words, arrange your memories in the order of their usefulness in achieving the higher aspirations and deeper yearnings of spirit and mind. Bury deep the recollections of all injuries, insults, and cruelties. As your parade of memories goes by, look lovingly and longingly at the beautiful ones, but avert your gaze and let the others pass ...

794. Searching for Peace

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... , and he had done much for the lad. In due time the lad was licensed to preach. And on that day the cobbler said to him, "It was always my desire to be a minister of the gospel, but the circumstances of my life made it impossible. But you are achieving what was closed to me. And I want you to promise me one thing - I want you to let me make and cobble your shoes - for nothing - and I want you to wear them in the pulpit when you preach, and then I’ll feel you are preaching the gospel ...

795. Epiphany 6

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon Aid

... entire Christmas cycle, lighting a few more of the weeks of Epiphany until, at last, the entire River Walk would be illuminated. Of course, anyone who suggested such a procedure would be told of its impracticability, but - with some imagination and ingenuity - a congregation might be able to plan and achieve something similar and of symbolic significance that would heighten the meaning of the Season of Light for the believers.)

796. Proper 12 & Pentecost 10

1 Kings 3:1-15, Exodus 3:1-22, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon Aid

... of the kingdom. Once we have received the gift of grace - the kingdom of heaven - it is for us not to lose it, but through repentance and joyful obedience, to live the new life of the kingdom as long as we live. What do you work hardest to achieve, accumulate, and retain? 4. Our eternal fate - "Choose this day whom you will serve" - the kingdom of heaven or the world - because tomorrow may be too late. "Go for it - the kingdom of God." 1 Kings 3:5-12 (R, E, L) - "A Programmed Prayer" A colleague, Wendell ...

797. First Encounters

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

... an eight-stringed harp. Saul’s pony express man arrived at Bethlehem. Only a few weeks had passed since Samuel had secretly anointed David. Now God’s plan of making David the king was getting under way in earnest. Like Saul, David had not had to fight to achieve power. He was as innocent as his mother’s milk. Now God would be working out his purpose of having this bucolic bard replace the wicked and worldly old king. The pony express rider told David he was wanted for a "gig." He was to sing and play ...

798. White, The color of purity, holiness

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

... bring the Christmas Day service of St. Martin’s Lutheran Church right lnto their homes.] * (* Adapt for local use.) The "good old days" have a lot of fond memories for many, but on a day like today I’m thankful for our technological achievements. Thank-you, good Lord! Second, we’ve often heard the phrase, "Christmas is for kids!" In many ways that does seem true enough. Most of our best memories of Christmas are of those special Christmases when we were children. The beautiful gifts, the magnificent ...

799. What Will He Find… When He Comes? - Shorter Version

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

In Paul’s great letter to the Corinthians he addresses many issues: conflicts, divisions and hardships abound on every side. The crowning achievement of that letter is the 13th chapter. The chapter on love. At the end of that chapter Paul says that of all the qualities of our faith there are three most important: Faith, hope and love. I would like to spend our time this morning on hope. In difficult times ...

800. Epiphany 4

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Bulletin Aid

... the wisdom that is so valued by Greeks is as ineffectual as the signs demanded by Jews; and that God purposely chose the foolish and the weak to shame the wise and the strong, so that the "boast" of all might be God and not themselves and their achievements. Call to Worship (based on Psalm 37) Leader: Let us take delight in God! People: LET US COMMIT OURSELVES TO GOD'S WAYS! Leader: Let us be still before God! People: LET US WAIT PATIENTLY BEFORE GOD! Collect God of all wisdom, you have scorned our best ...

Showing results