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 1101 to 1125 of 1967 results

1101. Lent 2

Psalm 121:1-8, Genesis 12:1-8, Romans 4:1-25, John 3:1-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The themes of sin and death, which have been central to the Lenten Old Testament lessons up to this point, give way to divine promise of life and blessing in Genesis 12:1-4a . Psalm 122 takes the divine promise of life and blessing into the setting of worship, where it functions both as a song of praise to God for the gift of peace and salvation, and as encouragement to the worshiper to seek the security of God's grace. Genesis 12:1-4a - "The Working Out of God's Blessing" Setting. ...

1102. Mom: The Heart of a Godly Family

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

James Merritt

Nobody can write a letter like a mother. I can remember when I was in college my first year, I was so homesick I literally lived for those days I would go to the post office and get a letter from my Mom. I want to share with you one mother's letter to her son in college. This mother was a country lady, not very well educated, but she loved her son. This was the letter: Dear Son: Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly because I know that you cannot read very ...

1103. Speak Up for Forgiveness

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The Christian faith boasts a "Six Step" Recovery Program to repair and restore broken relationships. If, as we discussed in last week's sermon ideas, the marriage covenant is sealed in freshness and finality through the culturally dubious virtue of faithfulness, that is still only half the story. In order for one weak, struggling, stumbling, sinful human being to remain faithful to another similarly hamstrung human being, there needs to be an enormous flow of forgiveness between the two. Faithfulness ...

1104. Wanted: A Lasting Marriage. Only Good Chemists, Bad mathematicians, Expert Soul-O-Flexors Need Apply

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

107 million married persons in the United States are asking the question, "How can I make my marriage last?" The answer is in the details. Here's my favorite "Go Figure!" for 1997: A major status symbol in this greedy-get-more consumer culture of ours is something that no amount of money can buy. You can't inherit it; you can't discover it; you can't even own it. What is it? What is this remarkable commodity that draws gasps of astonishment and admiring glances when it is revealed? It's a miracle marriage ...

1105. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

“Let’s say it’s 4:17 p.m. and you’re driving home alone after an unusually hard day on the job. Not only was the workload extraordinarily heavy, you also had a disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried he just wouldn’t see your side of the situation. You’re really upset and the more you think about it the more uptight you become. All of a sudden you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles ...

1106. Looking at the World through the Eyes of God

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

I can’t think of a greater condemnation to be levied against a people than this: They loved darkness instead of light. I would never want that to be said of me. But that is the way God sees the world. You and I see the world as it is right now. Most of the people around us try and do the right thing and when we are wrong hopefully we apologize. So we tend to think well of most people. But look out on the passage of time…. The Ancient World of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hellenism, Rome, Persia, India, and East ...

1107. Seventh Sunday of Easter

Revelation 22:7-21, Acts 16:16-40, Psalm 97:1-12, John 17:20-26

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 97 First Lesson—The experiences of Paul and Silas in Philippi make one of the most exciting stories of the early church. Acts 16:16-34 Second Lesson—The last word of the book of Revelation and the last word of the canon is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 Gospel—This great prayer of Jesus is for the unity of the whole community of his disciples. John 17:20-26 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And ...

1108. Born Again

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Nothing is more revealing of persons than the way they share themselves in conversation. Our Scripture lesson today provides one of the most profound encounters Jesus had with a person —— and the deep conversation they shared. The person is Nicodemus, and we need to refresh our minds as to who this person is. Nicodemus is a Jew, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was one of the most important bodies in Judaism. It was a counsel of 70 men, with the High Priest as its chairman. The ...

1109. Lord, Is It I?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few weeks ago, I told a story about Alexander Whyte, the great Scot Presbyterian preacher. Once an evangelist came to Edinburgh, and to enliven his preaching, he began criticizing the local ministers, among them Dr. Whyte. A man who heard the criticisms came the next day to Dr. Whyte. “The Evangelist said that Dr. Hood Wilson... was not a converted man,” he told Dr. Whyte. The great preacher rose from his chair in anger. “The rascal!” “The rascal! Dr. Wilson was not a converted man!” The visitor was ...

1110. Soaring with Christ

Matthew 28:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

What an absolute joy to worship here, to be your pastor, to celebrate this Easter Sunday. Thank you for giving me the privilege to do that. What does Easter mean to you? I posed that with a preschooler yesterday and he said, “The Easter bunny is coming to bring me some candy." I asked a teenager, “What does Easter mean to you?" With a twinkle in her eye she said, “Fun in the sun. I'm on my way to spring break." If you happen to be employed with the church, Easter week is the busiest week of the entire ...

1111. The Victory Is Ours

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

All Saints provides an opportunity to remember and give thanks for all the believers who have lived before us. Some of the saints are people we might have known quite well, we might recognize the names of others, and still there are many more numbering in the millions whose names and lives are known only to God. There are people we knew personally who impact our faith in profound ways: our parents, grandparents, other relatives, good friends, fellow church members, or neighbors who now reside in heaven. We ...

1112. People of the Book

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

A group of boys and girls was asked to sum up what they had learned from the New Testament. Here is a summation of what they had learned: “Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. “Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to ...

1113. Low-Carb Christians

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

It was over thirty years ago that someone handed me a book that seemed to have the answer to the greatest problem facing people like me — how to lose weight. The book promised a miracle cure with no pain. Eat all you want and lose more than you can imagine. The best thing was that this was secret knowledge. Those who read the book were right and everyone else was wrong, wrong, wrong. There was a special delight in being one of the elite, in knowing something no one else knew. Let me emphasize right off the ...

1114. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We never truly appreciate “home-grown,” or “home-style”,” “home-spun” or “down home” until “home” is in our rear view mirror. For college students, Mom’s meatloaf suddenly take on a whole new luster after a semester of college cafeteria food. A burger from McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut pie, or some KFC, tastes like heaven after an extended tour of duty in Afghanistan. It is the simple tastes, the simple things, the most simple and most familiar people, that make a particular place on this planet “home.” ...

1115. Je Suis Jesus

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Thirty years ago, the big hit movie, the “it” teen adventure film, was called “Back To The Future” (1985). It starred Michael J. Fox and in that now classic film, time travel was made possible by a machine called the “flux capacitor.” This machine was “hot-wired” to the hottest car of that age, a “DeLorian.” Does anyone remember the year that far-distant, fantastic-future-time-traveling teen hero lands in? 2015. Today. Looking back at the vision which that 1985 movie projected, it is hard not to feel ...

1116. Blessed Are the Abnormal

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Everyone knows the name Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh is best remembered as a troubled, but highly talented post-impressionist painter who died at the age of 37, perhaps at his own hand. His best-known work is titled, “Starry Night.” But let me tell you some things about Vincent van Gogh that you may not know. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh was drawn toward the Christian ministry at an early age? In the winter of 1878, van Gogh volunteered to move to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, a ...

1117. The King Born in a Manger

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s a true story--no matter how much like a fairy tale it may sound. A totally unsuspecting man literally stumbled upon what was, and still is today the world’s largest diamond--all 3,106 carats of it--about 1-1/3 lbs. It happened at the Premier Mine #2, near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. Due to the immense value of this enormous diamond, the authorities in charge of its transportation were posed with a huge security problem. How could they get it to their company headquarters in England? They solved ...

1118. The High Priesthood of Jesus

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

In the last verses of chapter 4 the author again exhorts his readers to faithfulness, but this time on the basis of his argument concerning the high priesthood of Jesus. The connection has already been made between Jesus’ high priesthood and his ability to help his people (see 2:17–18), but now it is elaborated and leads the author into the beginning of a discourse on why Jesus is qualified to be high priest. First the author reviews the role and calling of high priests (5:1–4), and then he turns to the ...

1119. John the Baptist

Luke 3:1-20

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: John calls the people to a new beginning, and so prepares the way for the Messiah. Understanding the Text We now move into the story proper, and it begins, as chapter 1 led us to expect, not with Jesus but rather with John, the forerunner. At 3:21 the focus will turn to Jesus, but John’s call to repentance, and the considerable impact that it had on public opinion, will remain in the background of Jesus’s own ministry. In many ways Jesus will be, as he was popularly perceived to be, the successor ...

1120. The Three Bs

Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 29

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Barbara Brown Taylor tells a story about her grandmother Lucy. Lucy would often get strange looks from others. She had lost both her legs to diabetes and had wooden stumps where limbs should be. Her weak eyes demanded that she wear dark glasses and most of the time she dressed like a bomber pilot. But to her granddaughters, Lucy was wonderful. Whenever Barbara would visit her grandmother, grace would abound. In the closet would be wrapped packages — enough for a surprise each day of the visit. The meals ...

1121. The Next Big Thing

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

When spring comes, we change things up. We clean our homes from top to bottom. We wash our curtains. We clean our car. We put away our winter clothing and get out our spring and summer wear. And importantly, we take our vehicles for an oil change, because over the winter, the cold weather puts extra demands on our oil and our oil filter. But whatever your manner of “spring changeover,” we all feel that need to cast off the pall of winter blues and do something constructive to get ready for the excitement ...

1122. Down by the Riverside

Mark 1:4-11 · Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In one of my favorite commentaries, the comic strip "Peanuts", Linus says to Charlie Brown: "I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe we should think only about today." To that, Charlie Brown responded: "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get better." Haven't you ever fellt like that? The Good News is that Jesus says "YES" even to our yesterdays. He accepts us as we are, forgives us and renews us, and as one preacher put it, "Washes behind the years." Because ...

1123. The Foreigner

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The craft of art restoration has become important to art historians and museums, particularly when talking about older works of art that may have become damaged from smoke, yellowed from resin, or simply dirt-covered with age. Many paintings from the Medieval or Renaissance period appear faded, shadowed, and their colors muffled and darkened from years of storage, passing of hands, or from materials used that collected dust and mold. Those who undergo the process of restoring a painting must be extremely ...

1124. I Am Somebody!

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I suspect that, having made it to mid-January, you would say that you have successfully survived the holidays. True? The celebration of our Savior’s birth — Christmas; then the New Year; finally the Feast of the Three Kings on January 6th — Epiphany (which for many has become the Feast of Taking Down the Decorations!). Today I want to suggest that there is one more holiday we should be observing — this day, the one the liturgical calendar designates to remember the Baptism of the Lord. If the witness of ...

1125. Terms Of Endearment

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

In his short story, “The Capital of the World,” Ernest Heming- way reported an event they talk about in Madrid. A young man named Francisco, lovingly called Paco by his parents, grew to be a teen at odds with his father. No matter how a day began, it was sure to end with angry words and heated arguments. Paco and his father became enemies living under the same roof. Finally the young man ran away, drifting eventually to the large metropolis of Madrid, where anyone could get lost and create a new identity. ...

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