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 826 to 850 of 1044 results

826. The Blessing Of A Godly Mentality

Genesis 18:16-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In just two days we will celebrate America’s 230thbirthday.” She is still a youngster in terms of national longevity. Her population is approaching 300 million. She is the only authentic super-power on earth. One of the ways to measure America is the “gate test.” That is, if a nation opens its gates, how many people want to get out and how many people want to get in? I don’t know of any Americans who want to immigrate to another country, and if they do, the gate is open. But then just consider the untold ...

827. A Defiant Response to a Dangerous Theology: Does God Desire to Wipe Us Out?

Gn 6:1-8. 9:6-17

Sermon

Illinois. Michigan. New York. Massachusetts. The rest of New England and the northeastern seaboard. Buffeted by snow. Buried in snow. Blitzed with a blizzard of snow. It is clear that God is venting his wrath and visiting his payback upon the blue states. If, at the last minute, the storm were to miraculously bypass Ohio, there are some of you….or a few of you….well, maybe two or three of you….who might actually believe that. And when the next storm misses us….by riding north of us or dipping south of us…. ...

828. Ministry By Faith: Does She or Doesn't She?

I Corinthians 16:14, James 2:14-26

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Shirley Polykoff describes the scene. Two women are talking quietly about another nice woman they both know, the woman in the ad who was always playing with a child in order to downplay any sexual overtones. Then (says Polykoff), smack in the middle of the conversation of middle class morality, we place the arresting question, the bombshell: "Does she or doesn't she? Hair color so natural, only her hairdresser knows." Polykoff was the creator of the 1950's advertising campaign, of which she says: A ...

829. Moses: On the Manna Diet

Exodus 16:1-5

Sermon

John E. Harnish

The story begins with the people grumbling…not only their stomachs, but their souls as well. So they form a "Back to Egypt Committee" whose mantra is "Why'd you bring us out here…everything was so much better back in Egypt." I guess just about every time the people of God begin to journey into an unknown future, they have to deal with the "Back to Egypt Committee," a desire for the good old days. Well, God heard their grumblings and, lo and behold, God provided—quail for protein and a generous serving of " ...

830. Moses: A Traveling God in a Pop-Up Camper

Exodus 13:17-22, 33:7-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

So Joseph died in Egypt. Having saved the family from famine, this great-grandson of Abraham dies in hope of the day when they will return to the Promised Land, the land of Abraham's sojourn and God's covenant. And as he requested, the people pack his bones in a coffin, promising to carry them along when the time comes. Decades pass; the people of Israel grow in influence and power. Like many immigrant groups which establish themselves in a new land, they become a threat to the powers that be. (There are ...

831. Searching: MySpace

Hebrews 11:8-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

I know I don't need to explain "MySpace" to graduates and Confirmands, but bear with me for the sake of the adults. "MySpace" is a website filled with over 70 million interactive, personal webpages and blogs. It's something like the old-fashioned personal pages in the newspaper (when news came on paper), but it's more like 70 million personal diaries, all hung out there for the world to read. Not all of it is innocent, however, as the story in yesterday's Free Press reminds us. They ran the story of a 16- ...

832. When Seeing is Not Believing

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John E. Harnish

And the story of Easter day continues. John says, "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week..." Imagine...just hours later, really, it is the evening of the day of Resurrection, the evening of the day which began in a garden, the evening of the day when Mary saw the Lord, the evening of the first day of the week. The doors are shut. The disciples are scared to death, and Jesus comes and stands among them and he says, "Peace be with you." He says it three times here, you notice. My guess is ...

833. From the Tomb

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John E. Harnish

None other than my good friend David Crumm reported on the front page of Friday's Free Press: "Christians Reach Beyond Easter Uproar to Find Hope." He writes: "Easter, Christianity's cornerstone, is at hand and nearly 200 million Americans say they plan to go to church. But the central meaning of the holiday is more hotly debated than at any other time in American history." David refers to The Da Vinci Code (and by the way, he will be with us the night of our Da Vinci Code theater party), the buzz about ...

834. On the Mountainside

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Words...words...words. Recently I read that last year, 100 new words were added to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary-words like bikini wax, brain freeze, chick flick, hazmat and Wi-Fi. Whether the world will be a better place because of it is yet to be seen, but we are overwhelmed with words. Words...words...words. The constant stream of rapid-fire raging rhetoric on talk radio; the unending stream of words on e-mail, i-Pod and spam; printed words, shouted words, confusing and contradictory words. To those ...

835. Worship Like A Wesley

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Charles Wesley had returned from the Georgia Colony in complete despair, just like his brother, John—struggling, doubting, longing for a new relationship with God. Then on May 21, 1738, the day he would call his "conversion day," he discovered the amazing gift of God's love in Christ made known for him. He opened his scriptures to Psalm 43 and read: "God hath put a new song in my mouth." He picked up a pen and never put it down. By the time of his death, he had written no fewer than 8,989 poems, including ...

836. Training for a Purpose

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Some years ago, many of us, like others before and after, went through basic training or boot camp. It was a time to get thoroughly acquainted, usually with either the army or navy. It was also a time of endurance. The hardened and veteran men of years' experience sought to teach us the elementary principles of living in the military. The "old salts" in the navy used to delight in bringing us down several notches. This was their method of clearing away obstructions to the teaching they were providing. Was ...

837. Looking Out for Others

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Being able to synthesize in such a way that harmony can be the outcome is among the many things the Apostle Paul does well. The often-pesky church at Corinth desperately needed such a skill, written and practiced in charity. To follow his inspired advice comes as a gift to all of us, 2,000 years ago or today. The individualistic Christianity, largely the work of Protestants, has been and is both a bane and balm, for us. To do our own thing is commendable and perhaps essential but it can prove utterly ...

838. Rescued and Transferred

Colossians 1:11-14

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son…(1:13 NRSV) A beautiful bride stood trembling at the head of a long church aisle. The wedding march was about to begin, but she was paralyzed with fear and announced she could not possibly walk down the aisle. The minister was summoned. "I just can't do it," she wailed, "I'm too nervous." "Now," said the minister, "let me tell you how to do it. Don't think about the people in the pews. When you walk in, ...

839. This Little Light of Mine

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

We’re getting closer to Christmas. Our boys and girls are excited about the presents they will be receiving. Maybe some of us adults are excited, too. I don’t know if you heard about a mother and daughter who were shopping at the mall. The mother spied an expensive fur coat. “This year,” she said, “I think that I will buy my own present instead of making you and dad shop for me.” Her daughter nodded in agreement. “And I think this fur coat would be perfect,” the mother concluded. The daughter began to ...

840. God’s Surprises

Acts 10:44-48

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The initiating incident in the story of Peter and Cornelius is reverse anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is prejudice against the Jews. Reverse anti-Semitism is prejudice by the Jews against Gentiles. Gentiles are non-Jews. In the first-century church one of the biggest problems was the big question of what to do with Gentiles who wanted to become Christians. Some Christians insisted that the Gentiles could only become Christians if they were circumcised and became Jews first. Others, including Peter and Paul, ...

841. Risking Relationships That Redeem

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

The ancient prophet/servant of the Lord Fried green tomatoes were the house specialty at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Alabama during the 1930s. Evelyn is suffering through the growing pains of a midlife crisis when she and her husband come across the quaint Depression-era ghost of a town called Whistle Stop. Their destination is a nearby retirement home where Evelyn quite by chance meets octogenarian Ninny Threadgoode. Evelyn is unhappy with herself and dissatisfied with her marriage. Sensing Evelyn's ...

842. When a Church Should Go to Hell

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Most of us spend considerable time and energy trying to make our lives as safe and secure as possible. We want to be able to sit back and count our blessings - such as our jobs, our homes, our net worth. Jesus turns our notion of a blessed existence upside down, finding strength in vulnerability and warning us about the dangers of contented complacency. A blessed existence involves being sent to hell. The "Ritual of Friendship," or "Passing the Peace" or whatever else that period of enforced sociability ...

843. Rags and Robes

Micah 1:1-7; 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Disciples of Jesus Christ are in the business of making rags into robes. We need to clothe people with integrity (a robe) even when they are dressed in rags. In the "affluent '80s" the rich got richer at a rapacious rate, while our increasingly stratified society saw the poor get much poorer at an equally alarming speed. Slowly, we became aware that our economic system was producing a growing underclass that had nowhere to go, nowhere to live except the streets. Even the most career-obsessed, social- ...

844. God Is Faithful

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God is most attentive when God seems most absent. Canadian geese are the bane of every golf course manager's existence. The vast expanse of rolling green grass, clipped to just the right height for goose grazing, marvelously accessible water hazards and fine "roughs" for nesting combine to invite sometimes thousands of the winged squatters onto previously pristine golf courses all over the country. The problem, of course, is that everywhere the geese go, well, the geese go. Ever notice how much golfing ...

845. Say What?

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes, especially when in the Presence of the holy, we honor God best by saying nothing. Recently KGO talk radio in San Francisco conducted a call-in poll. Ronn Owens invited listeners to express their opinion. Thirty-five percent said yes, 33 percent said no and 32 percent were undecided. One listener, aghast at the large number of undecideds, protested, "It's this sort of apathy that's ruining America." The only problem with all these responses was that the radio station had never posed any question ...

846. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

What we call Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church is possibly the most personal and pugnacious of the apostle's surviving writings. Unlike 1 Corinthians, where there are theological interpretations to argue, here Paul is battling for the validity of his own apostleship and ministry. Consequently, an aura of self-defense runs throughout 2 Corinthians. Apparently Paul had revisited Corinth after writing the letter we call 1 Corinthians (which itself appears to incorporate parts of an earlier letter ...

847. 1 Kings 19:9-14

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Ironically, 1 Kings 19 contains one of the most familiar, revered stories of the prophet Elijah's tumultuous life, and it is a historical-critical quagmire. There is no reason to believe that the events in chapter 19 chronologically followed those in chapter 18. The consensus is that a skillful redactor put together the two units by adding 9:1-3, thus connecting the flight to Horeb with the events at Carmel. Chapter 9 itself then combines three stories out of the Elijah tradition - his desert wanderings, ...

848. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

While all the gospels record the event of Jesus' baptism, each does so with an eye turned toward the specific community and situation the gospel writer is addressing. Thus, while there are tremendous similarities between all four versions of the Baptism, there are also subtle and theologically important differences. Not surprisingly, John's gospel gives us the most unique perspective on Jesus' baptism. Here, John the Baptist is actually the central character throughout the active record. The magnificent ...

849. Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

As Jesus and his followers continue to make their way toward Jerusalem, Luke relates situations that continually elevate Jesus in status and authority. Jesus had already sent out the Twelve on a previous missionary journey (9:1-10), and he was apparently in the habit of sending smaller envoys to villages ahead of himself to announce his coming (9:52). Now, a truly ambitious mission is mounted, with Jesus sending out 70 (or 72?) messengers of the Good News. Luke's vocabulary lends an almost political flavor ...

850. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Showing results