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 801 to 825 of 928 results

801. When Fishermen Don't Fish

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... that happened to him while he was in high school. Every year, he and his family used to go fishing during spring break. But one year, his brother and his mom couldn’t go, so his dad let him invite a friend. Max and his Dad looked forward to this vacation with great anticipation. They pictured the sun shining down on them as they sat in the boat in the middle of the lake . . . the yank of the rod and the spin of the reel as they wrestled the bass into the boat . . . the smell of fish frying in a skillet ...

802. Named, Claimed, and Framed

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Tony Everett

... over. Dishes from the youth breakfast have been washed and put away. Brass and tympani fanfares have concluded. Flowers on the cross have begun to wilt and blow away. Fewer pews are filled. In most communities, spring break is over. Easter vacations have ended. The return of familiar routines begin. The joy of Easter is still there, but it has diminished somewhat with a return to “the real world.” Nevertheless the antiphonal Easter proclamation continues. “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia ...

803. Peace Be With You

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... those locked doors. Why were they locked? Out of fear, of course. Jesus had been put to death by his enemies. Would they now turn their hatred toward his followers? It was a reasonable question. I read a humorous story this week about a couple who were vacationing in Yosemite Park. The wife expressed her concern about camping because of bears and said she would feel more comfortable in a motel. The husband said that he’d like to camp, but, to calm her concerns, they’d talk to the park ranger to see what ...

804. Envision: The Great Commission

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... church during the week. Today, we are going to talk about the last part of our mission as a church which is sharing your story. We believe if you love God, you want others to know about the love of God, so they, too, will love God. It was in Vacation Bible School. A young boy was six years old in the first grade and was taught a song that has stuck with him ever since that time. In fact, every time from that day forward that he read a particular verse in the Bible, he remembers this song. First I ...

805. Up Close & Personal: Coming Into Focus

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... . The word “faithful” there means “every time.” Ladies, how many of you would marry a man who would say to you, “If you will marry me I will be faithful to you 364 days a year.” Sorry. Faithful never gets a break. Faithful never takes a vacation. Faithful never gets a day off. The Marine Corp is right. You are to be “Always faithful.” A certain husband had a practice every night before he fell asleep of turning over in bed and telling his wife, “I’ve always been faithful to you.” After ...

806. About that Salesman

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... customer couldn’t even pick it up. Finally, the customer backed up to the counter on which the backpack sat and placed his arms through the straps. As he was staggering out the door, huffing and puffing, he asked the salesman, “By the way, what sort of vacations do you take? Where do you go?” The salesman retorted, “Oh, I just go to the seaside. Bad back. Could never carry all that stuff.” (2) O. K., let’s get this straight. The salesman was eager to weigh down the customer with all these hiking ...

807. An Announcement from a Stable

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... no room at the inn. They are shut out. Rejected. Maybe some of them are simply from the wrong side of the tracks. The Rev. Andrew Fiddler, an Episcopal priest, tells a hilarious true story that could have come from the Griswald family’s Christmas Vacation. It’s about a couple of strangers who appeared at his Christmas Eve service years ago. They were as huge as football linemen, he says. They both had shaggy, dark beards, and were wearing identical denim jackets with cut‑off sleeves. Their big, hairy ...

808. The Kingdom Is at Hand

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... read the newspapers. Before I moved to the Bible Belt. And before I met Dan. “Dan was 19 or 20 years old. Brilliant athlete who went off to college on an athletic scholarship. Great intellect. Had such a bright future. One day, Dan came home from college on vacation and got together with some old high school friends at the town park. They popped a few beers, told a few jokes, and about midnight decided to go swimming in the town pool. Dan was the first to dive in. “But in the darkness, he couldn’t see ...

809. Jesus Heals Body and Soul

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... old enough to remember Dean Jones. He starred in many Walt Disney films, such as The Love Bug (the original one) and The Shaggy D.A., and in the television show, The Teddy Bears. In February of 1974, Lory and Dean Jones took a vacation to Mexico City. One day when they were sightseeing, they decided to tour a Roman Catholic cathedral. As they followed the tour guide, Dean began making offhand comments like, “This place must be impossible to heat!” To Dean, the cathedral was just another architectural ...

810. Determining Your Destiny

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... those who die without God. There is no bridge across that canyon. There is a road that leads into hell. There is no road that leads out of hell. It is a one way, dead-end street. There are no missionary journeys to hell and there are no vacation trips to heaven. There is no purgatory. There is no second chance. The rich man didn’t care about anybody but himself when he was on earth, but all of a sudden, for the first time, in his existence, he starts thinking about other people. “And he said, ‘Then ...

811. When You Reach the Rejection Hotline

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... it to his front step and it became a door stop. More years passed. Railroads were built across the nation, more people pushed west and modern cities sprang up. A nephew of that same pioneer went east to study geology at a large university. He returned home during vacation. Lo and behold, on the front porch of his uncle’s cabin by the stream, he found not just an ugly lump, and not just a heavy lump, but a lump of pure gold, the largest gold nugget ever discovered on the eastern slopes of the Rockies! It ...

812. It's All Good

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... the word “upgrade.” We are going to live forever in God’s perfect place. Then John adds a strange, unique detail. He says, “And the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1, ESV) I don’t know about you, but I love the ocean. Every year as part of my vacation I go and spend a couple of weeks on the ocean. It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places I can go to. Have you ever thought about why the oceans exist? Over 70% of the surface of our world is covered with salt water. The average depth ...

813. A Voice Calls in the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... activist, had collected for poor kids. Harris said, “I figured no one was going to come to Watts and help us. No one had ever done that.” But Extreme Makeover: Home Edition did. Their staff shipped Harris and her family off for a week’s vacation while a hundred workers and neighbors tore her home down and built a new, bigger one. They replaced the Christmas toys and other donated items and gave them to her flood-stricken and needy neighbors. They even threw in a basketball court for the neighborhood ...

814. God's Adopted Children

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ortberg’s sister. She was his sister’s favorite doll. Wherever Barbie Ortberg went, Pandy went, too. After years of devoted love from Barbie, Pandy was a mess. But Barbie never noticed her ugliness; Pandy was still her favorite. One year, the family vacationed in Canada. On their way back to Illinois, Barbie realized that Pandy was missing. The family had already traveled hundreds of miles, but Mr. Ortberg turned the car around and the whole family headed back to Canada to retrieve the ugly little rag ...

815. From Gratitude to Grumbling

Exodus 16:1-36

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Start with a basic two-door sedan loaded with luggage for a vacation trip. Add a father, mother, and three children under the age of ten. Aim the car at an objective that is 500 miles down the road. After 350 miles have passed, examine the scene. What is the condition of what has become a traveling circus? Pretty discouraging? Now, magnify that ...

816. When Jesus Prays

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... budget by cutting the music and drama programs. After thirty years, Mr. Holland is forced into retirement. As the movie winds down, Mr. Holland returns to his classroom to retrieve his belongings. It’s a few days after school has let out for summer vacation. As Mr. Holland, his wife, and their now grown-up son, Cole, are cleaning out the last of his belongings from his old classroom, they hear music coming from the auditorium. To his amazement he discovers in the auditorium a capacity audience of former ...

817. Good News Anytime

Isaiah 62:1-5

Children's Sermon

... boys and girls. In our Scripture lesson for the day the people of Israel were going through a difficult time. They wondered why God had forgotten them. It reminded me of the story of a famous author who had written a new book. When it came out, he was on vacation. Naturally he was eager to find out if people were buying his new book. So he wrote his publisher a letter to find out. The letter didn't have any words on it. All it had was this: (Hold up "?") What is this? That's right. It is a question ...

818. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... does not require us to malign what is old, especially since Matthew does not lead us in this direction. Human Experience: You might draw upon the ways we anticipate and celebrate major events in life: a new job, a wedding, the birth of a baby, a retirement, or an exciting vacation. This anticipation and celebration give just a glimpse of the way many first-century Jews would have anticipated the kingdom’s arrival.

819. The Authority of Jesus over Sickness and Death

Mark 5:21-43

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the mom had other concerns. She was not confident in the supervision of the party. She also knew that her family would pay a price for a few days if her daughter did not get a good night’s sleep before they left the next day for a family vacation. The mother made her decision based on what was best for the girl and for the family. But the daughter could only see that she was not getting what she wanted. This gives us a glimpse into the correlation between faith and healing. There are times when in faith ...

820. Possessions and Choice in the New Kingdom Community

Mark 10:17-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... story of the rich man made the disciples very uncomfortable. It should make us uncomfortable as well. Bring items that might vie to be the first love for the people of your congregation. For example, you might want to have a bank statement, a trophy, a mobile phone, a vacation brochure, a picture of a happy family, and so on. Pull out one item at a time and ask, “Would you be willing to give this up if Jesus asked you to?” In the case of the picture of the family, ask, “Would you be willing to stand ...

821. The Garden City as Paradise Transformed

Revelation 22:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... being deceived and seek the Lord, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). 2. We will not be bored or unemployed in the new creation. The notion that heaven will be an eternally exhausting church service or even a never-ending vacation doesn’t fit with the text. Just as Adam and Eve were entrusted with ruling in the original garden (Gen. 1:26, 28), so God’s people will also bear the responsibility of reigning with him in the eternal garden city. Our relationship with God will involve ...

822. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... the tale, the emperor is transformed into a llama by his aging advisor and her henchman and then accidentally taken by Pacha to his village. The two are an unlikely team, since the emperor plans to demolish Pacha’s village to build a royal vacation home. Nevertheless, the challenges they face in traversing the wild and avoiding the pursuit of the emperor’s advisor and her henchman end up bringing the two to understand each other. They even become friends, largely based on the help they give each other ...

823. Sin and Punishment

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... quarters (9:17–22). First, professional women mourners, usually engaged to prompt crying at funerals and calamities, are hurriedly summoned to lament this awful disaster. Second, wailing is heard from Jerusalem itself, where plundered fugitives explain that they must vacate their dwellings and leave their land because all is ruined. Third, since in the future, mourners will be in great demand, the professionals are urged to train daughters and neighbors in the art of mourning. The epidemic is described ...

824. You Shall Be My Witness

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . And you, too. And go slow. And you too. “So we talk about the high price of lettuce, the playoffs, the Super Bowl, our diet, the stock market, the weather, the trivia at our work, taxes, the best car to buy, our aches and pains, our vacation plans, and what movie to see. Every survey of people’s conversations finds that these concerns and others like them dominate our verbal exchanges and our sharing with others, and only rarely do people speak of hallowed things.” [2] That’s the tragedy. And that ...

825. No Greater Love

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... the love we find in Jesus is no ordinary love? Another place where the people of the church have an opportunity to show true Jesus love is when we are outside the four walls of the church in our community. A Christian family traveling on a European vacation boarded a train from London to Dover in England. In Dover, they were scheduled to board a hovercraft that would ferry them across the English Channel to Calais, France. From there they were scheduled to board another train to Paris. It was a trip of a ...

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