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 1001 to 1025 of 1044 results

1001. The Battle Against the Ammonites

1 Chronicles 19:1-19

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

David’s Wars: In 17:10 the Chronicler made a small change to the verb of his source text. The result was a promise of Yahweh that he would subdue David’s enemies. The narratives that follow in the next three chapters provide proof that Yahweh did indeed fulfill this promise. These chapters emphasize that it is not David’s valor or his political aspirations that drove these military victories. It is rather Yahweh’s initiative in preparing the way for the dispensation of peace and rest that will prevail ...

1002. The Capture of Rabbah

1 Chronicles 20:1-3

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

1003. War with the Philistines

1 Chronicles 20:4-8

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

1004. The Completion of the Wall

Nehemiah 6:15-7:3

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Success in Spite of Intimidation: The keyword of this chapter is intimidation. Of the major English versions, only the NJPS is consistent in its fivefold rendering of the same Hebrew verb for intimidation. It occurs regularly at the conclusion of paragraphs, in verses 9, 13–14, 16, and 19. The first main section, consisting of verses 1–14, is divided into two parallel subsections describing different attempts to intimidate, in verses 1–9 and 10–14. Then verses 15–16 record a great reversal of the ...

1005. Like Fighting a Giant Tuna

Romans 7:14-25a

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Spencer Homan tells an exciting true story about the Great Tuna run of 1998. The story begins with tuna running only 30 miles off Cape Cod. What made that exciting was that such a run hadn’t happened in 47 years. The tuna were not only running, but they were also biting! It was a fisherman’s dream. All you needed was a sharp hook and some bait and you could haul in a bountiful catch. You could even make some money. Rumor had it that Japanese buyers would pay up to $50,000 for a nice blue fin tuna. ...

1006. Simple Faith?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

John Jamison

It all sounds so simple. It’s just so nice, so easy, and so straightforward; almost comfortable. And we’ve heard the story told so many times that many of us know it by heart. “This John the Baptist guy was standing in the middle of the Jordan River, yelling at people and baptizing them. He was yelling at some of the priests who didn’t like him, when suddenly Jesus stepped out of the crowd, walked into the water, and stood next to John. At first, John wanted Jesus to baptize him, but finally, he went ahead ...

1007. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Everywhere Jesus went, people flocked to him. They wanted what he was offering. They wanted inspiration. They wanted healing. They wanted God. Mark's gospel tells us that "so many people were coming and going they (Jesus and the apostles) did not even have a chance to eat" (Mark 6:31). That coming and going provided a chaotic atmosphere for Jesus' ministry. That chaos meant that even before Jesus got to a town, the mass of admirers and hangers-on rushed ahead of him and waited for his arrival (Mark 6:33). ...

1008. Sheep Without a Shepherd

Mark 6:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Somewhere I read about a man who went to an auto auction. They were selling cars to benefit a certain charity. Vehicles in this auction were classified as either “Running” or “No Start.” On the auction block was a No Starter. It had a shattered windshield, two missing tires, a sagging front bumper, a cockeyed grill, a hood that was sprung up at an angle, and dings and dents all over the body. Before he started the bidding, the auctioneer announced the car’s year, make and model. And then the auctioneer ...

1009. A Word to Busy Parents

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Today we’re going to be talking about the Christian family. I believe most of us will agree that raising a family can be challenging. In fact, raising a family changes with each baby. Someone has made a list of the ways having a second and third child is different from having your first. See if any of you can identify with these differences: For example, if you are a mom, your clothes change. With the first baby you begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your gynecologist confirms your pregnancy. With ...

1010. Patterns of Possibility

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

A few years ago I revisited the places of my childhood. Sim and I piled the kids into the car and traveled to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where I was born, and then to Erie, Pennsylvania, where I lived from the age of five until the age of twelve. Together the four of us explored what Sim fondly called the Seven Sacred Susie Sightings: the house where I was born, the two elementary schools I attended, the park by the zoo where I flew up from Brownie Scouts to Girl Scouts, and the beach on Lake Erie where I spent ...

1011. Holy Happiness

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Psychiatrist Robert Coles tells a story about a poor black woman in New Orleans who sells her body almost every night to wealthy old men in order to take care of her five children. And each night this woman takes half of what she earns as a prostitute and gives it to the nuns who run the local soup kitchen. Coles asks the question, “Is this woman blessed or is she cursed?” From her perspective, I’m sure the answer is both. But from the perspective of today’s gospel lesson, she is more blessed than she is ...

1012. When Mickey Mouse Recognizes You...

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you of a certain age may remember when Journalist Howard K. Smith was the co-anchor of the ABC Evening News along with Barbara Walters. Anyone remember her? In his post as a network news analyst Smith had the opportunity to interview some of our society’s most fascinating people as well as various Presidents. Yet in spite of having a job that most of us would consider high status, he complained that his children never considered him very “hip,” as [they/we] said in those days. In fact, they seemed ...

1013. How Would You Introduce Jesus?

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 I have a personal question to ask you this morning: how many of you would consider yourself to be socially awkward? Socially awkward people feel out of sync with those around them. They find small talk very difficult. They often feel they don't belong. Could that describe you or someone you know? Some people don’t have this problem. They are at their finest when they are in a new social situation. But some of us are a little awkward around people we don’t know, and ...

1014. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: Ring (engagement ring preferably) or letter from a prior wartime soldier (if you can find such) Have you heard the riddle? Question: In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, what's the difference between the Chicken and the Pig? Answer: The Chicken is involved, but the Pig is committed! Commitment is sometimes a “dirty word” in our culture today. People are wary of making commitments that may not last. Our marriage rates are going down. More people are renting homes than buying. Many are buying gold, fearing ...

1015. One Stone Faith

1 Sam. Chapters 16-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The story of David is the story of a Shepherd defending the holy flock of the Lord. But it is the Lord who saves them. For God is the true Shepherd of Israel. The boomer generation may well be the last generation that has significant memories of growing up on a farm. Anyone here a farmer? Anyone lived either on a farm, or a ranch, or know someone who does? If you live on the land, particularly in undeveloped areas or frontier regions, one of your major concerns are predators. Today, your threat may be as ...

1016. Unfettered Faith

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:40-45, Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am the Lord who heals you.” --Exodus 15 One of the most dangerous forms of infection today is something called sepsis. Sepsis is caused by bacteria which invade the body through an open wound, then cause an inflammatory response within which quickly attacks the body, shuts down organs, and can even cause death. It’s a frightening and debilitating experience. It literally binds up one’s bodily systems and breaks down the body from the inside out. And it can all start from one small wound. But physical ...

1017. Plucked from the Blaze

Zechariah 3:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We are shaped by our experiences. You are who you are because of what has happened to you and your response to those happenings. At least in part. Every one of us has memories of times in our lives that we can identify as crucial milestones –moments that became momentous, moments that changed us in some way, made of who we are, shaped our thoughts, branded our memories, imprinted our feelings. What is your most vivid memory? Often, the experiences we remember the most are those that were most traumatic. ...

1018. Ask Jacob!

Matthew 6:25-34, Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Steady as she goes” the ship’s helmsman cries, hoping to keep the ship on its current course. The nautical term urges the helmsman to first observe where the ship lies and its current direction, and then to maintain that course steadily going forward. What lies out there? No one knows. Sometimes in a storm, a sailor cannot see in front of him or her, let alone further ahead. That’s why the compass is so important. Like an internal clock, the compass is the ship’s true North that can perceive the direction ...

1019. The Phrase We Never Want to Hear

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

I have a brain-teaser for you this morning. What is the one phrase that nobody likes to hear, but everybody likes to say? The phrase is, “I told you so.” When someone doesn’t listen to us, they ignore our advice and get themselves in trouble, we are quick to say, “I told you so.” But we absolutely hate it when others are right, and they throw those words at us. I read of two amazing “I told you so” moments recently. In the 1970s, the mayor of Fudai, Japan, pushed through a plan to build a ridiculously ...

1020. When Someone Disagrees with You

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometimes I run across a story that is so bad that I can’t resist telling it. A man walks into his doctor’s office and says, “Doctor, I’ve eaten something that disagrees with me.” Suddenly there is a voice from the man’s stomach. The voice says, “Oh no, you haven’t.” Oh, well. I warned you it was bad. I don’t know whether you have encountered any food that has disagreed with you but there are surely times in life when you have run into people who are, shall we say, disagreeable? It happens wherever there ...

1021. The Judge of the Living and the Dead

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

When the Son of Man comes in his glory…he will sit on the throne of his glory…and separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. — Matthew 25:31-32 In a recent essay, Princeton Seminary president Craig Barnes wrote about two black Labrador retrievers that attended worship in the seminary chapel. It’s not that these dogs were especially religious. Rather, they were guide dogs trained to help visually impaired students make their way across campus. Barnes noted that when ...

1022. Cherish the Moment

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Let me ask you a question: if you could be granted a peek into your future, would you take it? Let’s say you were granted the opportunity to just take a quick peek at your life five or ten or twenty years from now—would you do it? Would you want to know? I thought about that question when I read about some coffee houses in Shanghai, China, called Mo Mi Cafes. In some ways the Mo Mi Cafes are like any other cafes. You can buy specialty coffee or tea at the Mo Mi Cafe. You can hang out and read books. Or ...

1023. You're Never Too Old

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

Let me ask a question of those of you of a certain age: Did you ever look around at a group of your peers and wondered to yourself if you look as old as they do? I ask that because I heard of an older gentleman who was sitting in the reception room of a dentist’s office. It was his first visit to see this dentist. While waiting for his appointment, he noticed a certificate hanging on a wall which bore the dentist’s full name. Suddenly, he remembered that a slender, nice looking young woman with that name ...

1024. Beginning the Lenten Journey

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

I read of a pastor, who confessedly tells that he is not the neatest person in the world, but discovered his daughter was on the way to becoming an even messier housekeeper than he. His approach was always to come at a problem not only with both self-confession and identification but with a bit of humor. When she came home from school one day, he caught her as she walked in the door and said, “I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that we were broken into today. The good news is that they only ...

1025. A Nod of Recognition

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

There was a game show on television. Some of you may remember the 1970’s remake of it, and a few may even remember the original from the early 1950’s. It was one of those shows that keeps cycling back into our lives in different formats. Today, iTunes even has a version of the game. It is called “Name That Tune.” The rules were simple, the host would play a few notes from a popular song and the contestants tried to be the first to guess it. There are some songs that are easy to recognize from the first ...

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