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 1126 to 1150 of 1185 results

Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Thomas Paine

I ask the rights to pursue happiness by having a voice in that government to which I am accountable.

Victoria Woodhull

No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto.

W. Clement Stone

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

Four steps to achievement: plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently.

William Arthur Ward

1131. The Beginning of Wisdom

Prov 9:10

Illustration

... because the animals were trained to walk in alphabetical order. The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10) and “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). We may, like Ismael, pursue all the knowledge of the Lord. But Paul says that if we don’t have love, we are nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2). John says that when we know God, we love. (1 John 4:7, 8) True wisdom—a knowledge of God—will result in His love ...

1132. Stay Awake!

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

A young professional woman from Ohio decided to seek her fortune, discern her vocation, and potentially change her life for the better by moving to England. She relocated to London where she began to pursue an advanced degree, seeking new opportunities in the work world. One of the things she took with her from the Midwest was an insatiable love for the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team. She followed the games on the internet, listening to the live feed. The problem with this arrangement was ...

1133. About Face!

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... and speaking engagements inspire people who face unexpected losses. Amy Purdy’s challenges could have caused her to live the rest of her life in fear, watching out for her own safety and comfort. Instead, she is investing her life in helping others. She is pursuing opportunities to do good works. (3) The saddest emotion and least productive emotion in life is fear. Amy overcame her fear and she is having a fruitful life. Think how often the scriptures say, “Don’t be afraid.” Could it be that the ...

1134. Revenge or Love

Illustration

Frederick Keller Stamm

Out of the Armenian atrocities in the early 20th century comes the story of a young woman and her brother who were pursued down the street by a Turkish soldier, cornered in an angle of the wall, and the brother slain before the sister's eyes. She dodged down an alley, leaped a wall, and escaped. Later, being a nurse, she was forced by the Turkish authorities to work in a military hospital. ...

1135. Abba! Father!

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

Ron Love

... if we really are saved. We will always be plagued with doubts regarding our faith. We will be plagued by those unanswerable theological questions that cause us sometimes to wonder if there really is a God. This is what makes faith so difficult and pursuing service to God so difficult. Even Paul questioned his faith at times, but he still remained an effective evangelist. Recall what Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” In Paul’s letter to ...

1136. Freedom

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ? Freedom? Surrounded by our burglar alarms, and medicine cabinets, our fears heart attack, impotency, insanity, insolvency -- this is freedom? We Americans have built a society which has given an unprecedented measure of freedom to its citizens. I am given maximum space aggressively to pursue what I want -- as long as I don't bump into you while you are getting yours. What we call culture is a vast super market of desire where citizens are treated as little more than self-interested consumers. I've got ...

1137. Having the Right Connection

John 15:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... energy on this earth chasing after a meaningless lifestyle. Cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you will find the true purpose of a fruitful life that reflects Jesus’ spirit. 1. Perry Greene, https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/pursuing-happiness-perry-greene-sermon-on-direction-244825?page=2&wc=800. 2. “The Impossibly Perfect Life of Sager Kopchak” by Erica Corsano, Boston Magazine November 6, 2018. https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/11/06/sager-kopchak.

1138. When We Are Weak

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... our weakness lead us to grow and if it causes us to give our best effort in all circumstances. Our weakness can also become a strength if it helps us change our life’s course. Sometimes what seems a weakness is only a signal that we are pursuing the wrong trail. One of the most revealing lines in literature appears in the opening paragraph of A. A. Milne’s WINNIE-THE-POOH. Milne writes: “Here is Edward Bear coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It ...

1139. Walking in the Way of Love

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... , “Many of our residents have wrestled their whole lives with a haunting question: does anyone actually care about me? The Agony Ride answers this with physical, indisputable evidence. It stirs up hope that life may be worth living after all, and it provides the means to pursue that hope.” (9) How about you? Could you ride the Agony Ride? In our passage for today, Paul invites us to walk the Agony Walk—the walk Christ made to the cross in our behalf. You can invite people to church, you can study your ...

1140. The Organic Gospel

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... upon the sovereignty of God. And because, without us fulfilling this role, God will no longer have a people. Our job is not to reach a destination in which we have reached our independent goals, no longer need God, or no longer have a sacred purpose to pursue. Our job as God’s people is to be in a perpetual and life-long process of nurturing, keeping, seeding, and sowing the covenant of God, even as God continues to nurture and grow us as people. The purpose is in the process, not in the destination ...

1141. Joy on an Elephant

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

Mary Austin

... they’re excited about. See them bouncing up and down with anticipation. Listen to how their thrilled voices get louder and louder. What would make you feel that way this Advent? What would give you that kind of joy? Whatever it is, God is inviting you to pursue it — this Advent, and beyond. God invites you to cultivate joy in your life, instead of distraction and hurry and worry. Lord knows, there’s plenty to get in our way. It’s not just the things we have to do. Life itself gets in the way ...

1142. Not Guessing

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... Brian Jay Jones tells the story about how the famed filmmaker rose from obscurity in the small California town of Modesto to become the world-famous creator of the Stars Wars series. Lucas, an indifferent high school student, became serious about pursuing a career in film after surviving a devastating car crash. His college student films attracted some attention, but initially only a few people recognized that he had the potential to become a great filmmaker. However, after fighting budget constraints and ...

1143. Seeing Is Believing

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... I don’t want you to miss what comes next: “At once he was able to see and began to follow Jesus on the way.” When we see Jesus, we follow Jesus. The man wasn’t asking to see simply out of selfish motives, so he could go on and pursue his life the way he used to. He wanted to see the man he already knew and recognized in his mind’s eye: Jesus, Messiah, Son of God. He wanted to see, so that he could follow him and be part of his group of disciples. Some of you at ...

1144. Shared Promises

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Faith is a journey you don’t do alone. This is one of the most important distinctions about the Christian faith. If you are Buddhist, you can and must pursue your personal enlightenment alone. If you are a Hindu, you can make your personal sacrifices, carry out your personal rituals, and attempt to attain “nirvana” alone. If you are of one of the other Abrahamic religions, you try to live morally by the laws and teachings set before you. It’ ...

1145. The Favorite

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... by everyone and looked upon highly by both authorities and neighbors. And yet, in this short scripture about his life, we also see the signs of a driven prophet, a young man committed to a mission, and one unafraid to put aside anything in order to pursue that mission, even leave his family and travel companions behind to sit in the Temple with the rabbis disputing the Torah until the late hours of the night without letting anyone know where he was. This would be the true beginning of Jesus’ ministry, his ...

1146. “Until An Opportune Time…”

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... ourselves to float away on the currents of temptation? Where and in what ways do we give ourselves away to lowered expectations and questionable activities? I know. This is difficult. Yet in this season of self-examination such questions are important to pursue. The second way of responding to temptation is accommodation. Accommodation is the submission to the notion that “it’s not really that bad.” Even in the moment that this sermon takes shape we can see this in certain peoples’ refusal to ...

1147. Understanding What God Expects of Us

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)

Sermon

King Duncan

... families of law officers who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. (5) Katherine Thacker had every right to be angry at her father’s killer. But her anger drove her further from God and from God’s purposes for her life. It was only when she pursued the mind and character of Jesus that she overcame her anger and discovered a new mission in life. So the first two questions that will lead us closer to God and to God’s purposes for our life is, “What kind of God do you believe God is?” and “Who ...

1148. Poor Old Thomas

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... along with Thomas. “Dubito ergo sum,” or “I doubt therefore I am.” Doubting is an essential part of faith. If we simply accept things as they are without asking the questions, without probing our own minds and hearts, then we cannot be very seriously pursuing faith. Today, let us give thanks for the Thomases in our lives. Today, let us acknowledge that without Thomas, those followers of Jesus might have stayed hidden in that room for quite a while. Think with me for a moment, about those people in ...

1149. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

... I mention went out of the state to study -- went down to Yale College and studied mines and mining. They paid him fifteen dollars a week during his last year for training students who were behind their classes in mineralogy, out of hours, of course, while pursuing his own studies. But when he graduated they raised his pay from fifteen dollars to forty-five dollars and offered him a professorship. Then he went straight home to his mother and said, "Mother, I won't work for forty-five dollars a week. What is ...

1150. Secret Sauce

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to crumble and separate. Communities start building walls instead of bridges, barriers instead of entryways. Love seals. Mistrust divides. Love is Jesus’ secret ingredient. His “secret sauce.” No matter how hard loving is, it’s the goal that all Christians pursue in order to build the kind of community Jesus intended. Wherever division exists, seal it with love. Wherever diverse opinions exist, bridge them with love. Wherever differing worldviews emerge, stretch out a hand in love. Wherever multiple ...

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Showing 1126 to 1150 of 1185 results

Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Thomas Paine

I ask the rights to pursue happiness by having a voice in that government to which I am accountable.

Victoria Woodhull

No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto.

W. Clement Stone

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

Four steps to achievement: plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently.

William Arthur Ward

1131. The Beginning of Wisdom

Prov 9:10

Illustration