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 951 to 975 of 5000 results

951. The Difference Between Looking Good And Being Good

Matthew 23:1-39

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A rock (as large as possible) Good morning, boys and girls. A missionary in Africa was traveling with two African friends. They came to a pile of stones and each of his friends picked up a stone. They advised him to do the same. "Why should I pick up a rock and carry it," I asked. "You'll need it," replied one of his friends. "I can't see any use of carrying a burden like that," said the missionary. He walked on refusing to pick up a stone. Soon they came to a swollen river. The two African men ...

952. An Unforgettable Day

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

The September 2002 issue of More magazine carried an article titled, "The Day I'll Never Forget." It was an interview with prominent people about where they were and what they remember from the most momentous events in American history. Janice Aldrin recalled the giant, rocket-shaped cake her family and friends ate to celebrate the day when her dad, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, first set foot on the moon. Former Olympic track star Madeline Manning Mims remembered the terror she and her teammates felt at the 1972 ...

953. Frustrated By Their Lack Of Faith

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

The Fourth of July makes us conscious of our roots. Have you ever thought what a leap of faith it was for Columbus to embark on his great adventure? Do you not marvel at his perseverance and commitment to his dream? I read somewhere that the average speed of the Santa Maria during the voyage across the Atlantic was two miles an hour. Yet we get frustrated when we have to slow down to 30 miles an hour in traffic. Do you wonder why his crew became almost mutinous at times? Do you understand how frustrated ...

954. Whatever became of Kingdomtide?

John 16:17-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I wonder whatever became of Kingdomtide. Kingdomtide used to be listed on the liturgical calendar of the old Methodist, and now United Methodist, Church as the period between Pentecost and Advent. It began on the last Sunday of August which has traditionally been designated as the “Festival of Christ the King.” During Kingdomtide clergy got to wear green stoles symbolizing the growth of the Kingdom of God in the world. After all, our Lord did teach us to pray: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth ...

955. Only the Neighbors’ Kid

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In his excellent little book, How Can It be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?, Professor Lew Smedes says that one source of our salvation is to cultivate a sense of wonder. He reminds us that Jesus was a source of wonder to all who came into contact with Him, from the humble shepherds who were struck with wonder at the sight of blazing angels sashaying around the Judean hills to the Wise Men from the East who came and laid their gifts at Jesus’ feet and wondered. All His life Jesus made people wonder ...

956. Holy Thursday

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I like to eat. According to the Gospels, so did Jesus. One of the criticisms leveled against Him by His adversaries was that He was always eating and drinking with “the wrong kinds of people.” As William Willimon says in his little book SUNDAY DINNER, “The dinner table is such an intimate, holy, transforming, mysterious place—you’ve got to be careful whom you eat with. If you are trying to convince yourself that another person is not a full, valuable human being, a brother or sister, be careful not to ...

957. Staying Focused--Traveling Light

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I think most of you would agree that we live in a sports-oriented culture. Even the average athlete makes more money than the President of the United States, and most college coaches make more money than the professors who teach at our universities. Yes, every Saturday and Sunday there are athletic events that have the capacity to attract millions of folks to stadiums, golf courses, and race tracks. These athletic events also have a way of attracting the headlines of the morning newspapers even when we are ...

958. A Ship without a Port

John 3:1-21

Drama

Angela Akers

Characters: Boss of advertising company Senior advertising executive Two or three other members of advertising team Person carrying a cross Setting: The conference room of an advertising agency Props: Conference table and chairs White poster board with ad slogans and pictures (paste magazine ads onto poster board underneath the slogan) (As the characters talk, have one person carrying a large cross who wanders through the set, observing them. The other actors in the skit should be oblivious to the presence ...

959. The Gift Of Sleep

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I think I've told you the story of the mother who was trying desperately to get her son out of bed, to get him up and ready for church on Sunday morning. None of you parents have that problem with your children, do you? The mother threatened, begged, cajoled -- but to no avail. "Come on, Son, she pleaded. Why don't you want to go?" "I'll give you three reasons, he said. One, the people down there aren't friendly. Two -- they don't like me, and three, they don't listen to what I have to say." Parents, have ...

960. The Rest Of The Story

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

As Adam and his sons, Cain and Abel, were walking one day, they passed the beautiful Garden of Eden. Just to pass by was an experience. Adam knew what was inside those beautiful gates -- the lush fruit, the gorgeous flowers -- it was a place of endless delight. An angel with a flaming sword was guarding the gate. Adam said, "Boys, take a good look. That's where we lived before your mother ate us out of house and home." In the words of Paul Harvey, "that's the rest of the story." The first chapter of ...

961. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are some experiences or encounters that are so solidly lodged in our memory they continue to invade our consciousness – to haunt us – to help us or to hinder our Christian walk, to call and challenge us to be more than we are. John Birkbeck is a person around whom for me a whole cluster of memories is gathered – memories that invade my immediate awareness now and then. John was a Scot Presbyterian preacher. During a part of my tenure as the World Editor of The Upper Room, he was the editor of the ...

962. A Thousand Years Of Ashes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

When Pastor Derek Rust of Lakeville, Minnesota, preached a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, he decided to provide his congregation with a pro-active way to live out the lessons. For the eighth commandment—“Thou shalt not steal”—Rust placed large bins throughout the church and encouraged parishioners to drop off any items that they had stolen over the years. Rust was inspired by the example of British pastor J. John, who placed such bins in his own church. The response has been surprising. The week ...

963. The Curriculum of God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We can do startling new things because God has drawn near enough to enable them." Matthew 4:17b It was an awful time in London. In December of 1952 a toxic mix of dense fog and thick black smoke killed four thousand in four days. Coffins ran out, as did funeral flowers. It was one of the deadliest environmental disasters in English history. Here is what happened: “As smoke pouring out of London's chimneys mixed with fog, the air turned colder. In response, ...

964. Jesus, Our Rock Foundation

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

When Charlie Atlas was a teenager his parents bought him a dresser mirror that he placed in his bedroom. Before this time, whenever Charlie needed to use a mirror he went to the bathroom, but there he was only able to see his head and possibly his shoulders. When he got dressed up he used his parents' full length mirror in their bedroom. Charlie was happy with his new mirror; he spent many hours in front of it. One day when he was standing in front of the mirror, Charlie decided to take off his shirt. He ...

965. Can You Smell the Perfume?

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

A group of men celebrated on and on in a sports bar. "Here's to 94," one of them toasted. "Hip-94-Hooray," another of them cheered. "Ninety-four, Ninety-four," "Ninety-four," they chanted in unison. The waitress could take the mystery no longer. When one of them left for the men's room, she intercepted him and asked, "Why the big deal about 94?" "It only took us 94 days to finish this puzzle we've been working on." "What's so special about that?" He replied, "Hey, the box reads 5-7 years." Puzzles are not ...

966. Living in the Red

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Once upon a time there was a court jester who had served the Caliph at Baghdad and his court, keeping them amused whenever they called on him. One day in a moment of thoughtlessness, he offended the Caliph. For his impertinence, the Caliph ordered that the jester be put to death. "However," said the ruler, "in consideration of your many years of service, I will let you decide how you will die." "Well," replied the jester, "if it's all the same to you, O most generous Caliph, I choose death by old age." ...

967. When Losing Your Baggage Is a Good Thing

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago we took a group from our church on a tour of the Holy Land. We were there for ten days and it was wonderful. Dr. Jim Fleming led the tour and he is amazing. He is a great Bible scholar, a respected archaeologist and he lives in Jerusalem six month of each year, so he knows the land, the languages, the customs and the culture incredibly well. All of that put together gives him keen insights into the teachings of Jesus and the truth of the Bible. On top of all that, he never gets tired. He is ...

968. They Lied and They Died

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

There have been some famous names in our history. Everyone knows John and Jackie, as in Kennedy, George and Martha, as in Washington; James and Dolly, as in Madison. In the Bible, there have also been some famous couples. As I thought about some of these couples, a thought immediately came to my mind about each one of them. One famous couple was Ahab and Jezebel: about them, I thought; they lived by the sword, they died by the sword. Then there was Ruth and Boaz: The thought came to my mind; they met, they ...

969. I Believe That Jesus Suffered Under Pontius Pilate

John 1:29-34

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a man called a church by mistake. The church receptionist happened to be distracted at the time, and did not answer the phone in the usual fashion. She just said "Hello." The man said, "I want to order one pound of Barbecue, two pints of Cole slaw. and a dozen hush puppies." The receptionist said, "Wait a minute, sir. We are not a food service operation. You must have the wrong number." The man hesitated a moment and then asked, "What do you sell? What business are you in?" That's a fair question ...

970. Joseph: Don't Bury Me Here

Genesis 50:22-26; Exodus 13:19-22; Joshua 24:32

Sermon

John E. Harnish

So Abraham and Sarah sojourned in the land of promise. They lived in tents, looking for a city. And when, as God had promised, a son was born, they named him Isaac. Isaac produced sons...twins in fact, Esau and Jacob, whose name actually means "heel-grabber" because he was born hanging onto his brother's heel. As a second-born twin, I am not sure it's a compliment to be compared to Jacob, but I do tend to identify with this story. And if you ever want to read a tale of classic sibling rivalry, take a look ...

971. A Lifetime to Prepare

Matt 25:1-13; Luke 20:27-40

Illustration

King Duncan

There is an old legend about a man who had a rather stupid servant. The master often got exasperated with his servant. One day in a fit of frustration he said to the servant, "You've got to be the stupidest man I've ever met. Look, I want you to take this staff and carry it with you. And if you ever meet a man stupider than you are, give him the staff." So the servant carried the staff. Often out in the marketplace he'd meet some pretty stupid people. But he was never sure they were worse off than he. ...

972. A Burden or a Song

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

Is your religion a load or a lift? That was a popular sermon topic during my growing up years. Preachers were fascinated with alliteration: load/lift, and they thought the idea was a catchy one, so I heard more sermons on the subject than I wanted to hear. Frankly, I never cared much for them. Do you have ideas, like that, that turn you off sometimes? I thought it was a pointless question. I thought the preachers were just setting up straw men only to knock them down again. After all, the answer to the ...

973. Where a Cross Should Be Worn

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. Mietlowski took Eric in his arms and traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using a special anointing oil. Following worship, Eric’s family celebrated with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being ...

974. Our Burdens

Mk 6:6; 2 Cor 12:9

Illustration

King Duncan

St. Paul writes in II Corinthians 12:9, "And God said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee . . .'" What a hard thing that is for us to accept. We are like the old man riding down the road on a donkey while he carried a 200 pound sack of wheat on his shoulder. Someone asked him why he didn't take the weight off of his shoulders and strap it to the donkey. "Oh, no!" he protested. "I couldn't ask the donkey to carry all that weight." Many of us are carrying burdens today that we do not have to carry. ...

975. No One Left Behind

2 Kings 7:3-20

Sermon

James Merritt

"No One Left Behind" - that is a universal creed that is shared by every firefighter, soldier and law enforcement person in America. Whenever they go out on a mission to fight fire, to fight crime or to fire an enemy of our nation, they are determined that when it comes to their own there will be "No One Left Behind." I don't know where this motto originated, but it could have come from the story we will study today. The Kingdom of David, which then was passed on to his son, Solomon, was known as the ...

Showing results