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 1176 to 1200 of 5000 results

1176. Dreaming Of Florida--awaking In Alaska

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Near the end of 1981 a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lewenetz, took a flight from Moscow to the United States to visit his father. When they emerged from their airplane at the end of the trip, they expected to find warm, sunny Florida. Instead, they found themselves in frigid Alaska. The couple did not even realize their mistake, however, until they tried to get a cabdriver to take them to the address of Mr. Lewenetz's father. Later a resident of the town who spoke Russian helped straighten out the problem. An ...

1177. Being A Sheep Is Not So Bad (compared With Being A Goat)

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Faye Neff, writing in THE CLERGY JOURNAL, tells about a newspaper in Maine that printed an embarrassing mistake. The paper ran a photo of the local board of council members, but someone placed the wrong caption under the picture. Beneath the photo were these words: "Naive and vulnerable, the sheep huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world." Can't you just imagine that caption, asks Neff, under a variety of photographs? Under a picture of the president and his advisers? Or perhaps ...

1178. Passing The Test Of Faith

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A "Security Blanket." Good morning, boys and girls. What do I have with me this morning? It is a blanket, isn't it? But it is not just any blanket--this is a security blanket. Did any of you, when you were small, have a special blanket that you carried around with you just about every place you went? Some of you did--or I imagine you have seen a younger brother or sister do that. Any of you who have seen a Charlie Brown cartoon show on television know that Linus always carries his blanket ...

1179. It's A Terrible Thing To Be Rejected

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the characteristics of many Eastern cultures is a deep sensitive people are to other people's feelings. For example, one publication, the Financial Times, carried this rejection notice, written to a writer by the overly polite editor of a Chinese economic journal: "We have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your paper," says the editor, "it would be impossible for us to publish any work of lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that in the next thousand years we ...

1180. The Problem With Keeping All The Rules

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Photographer Wendy Ewald travels around the world teaching children to use photography to express their thoughts and feelings. Take a child who is relatively powerless and give him a camera, and suddenly that child is empowered by the chance to express himself. Ewald recalls a little Indian boy named Pratap. When Ewald handed him a camera, Pratap began to shake all over. He explained that he was a Harijan, a member of the lowest, untouchable caste in India. Harijans aren't allowed to hold cameras. Pratap ...

1181. He Was Afflicted

Isaiah 63:7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I hope Santa brought you just what you wanted. Now we can put an end to the rumor that Christmas was being canceled this year. Oh, you hadn't heard that one? What I heard was that Christmas had been canceled and it was all your fault because when you told Santa you had been good this year, he died laughing! But I'm glad the rumor was false. It would be awful if we couldn't laugh. Here's something I'll bet you didn't know: According to Chase's Calendar of Events: 2003, ...

1182. Bearing The Right Fruit

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

There was an absurd newspaper item quite some time ago from Iowa City, Iowa. It concerned a woman whose palms suddenly started bleeding. A researcher who examined her said that the wounds resembled a certain stigmata that often appears on very religious people. Some of you may have heard of the stigmata. It refers to a condition where people bleed from the palms, especially around Good Friday, resembling the bleeding hands of Jesus on the cross. And this lady in Iowa City had these same kind of wounds on ...

1183. Grieve Not The Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

I understand there is an organization in Hollywood, CA called The Holy Ghost Repair Service, Incorporated. And no, they aren't in the business of repairing shoes, watches, or automobiles. On their stationary they state as their purpose "repairing broken lives for Jesus . . . in the power of his Spirit." We may express it a little less colorfully, but that is our church's purpose as well"” "repairing broken lives for Jesus in the power of his Spirit." Some of us know what it is to have broken lives. There ...

1184. A Lightning Rod Instead of a Cross

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

For just a moment, I want you to imagine a lightning rod on top of our steeple [rather than a cross]. Some cynic with a wicked sense of humor has said that, if it were up to most of its members, modern churches would have lightning rods on their steeples instead of crosses in memory of that time when lightning struck the early church. He’s speaking of the amazing events that happened on the Day of Pentecost. But then he adds, “The lightning rods would serve as protection against such events ever happening ...

1185. Confronting Hypocrisy with Humility

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

Politicians in Washington play the gotcha game to perfection. To make matters worse the news media feeds on it. Not only do they feed on it, they feed it, hoping for a national scandal to make themselves appear relevant. These various political events are a fitting context for our scriptural text about hypocrisy. Listen to what Jesus says about these politicians (in his day they were called Pharisees): “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a ...

1186. So Who Needs A Shepherd?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, “Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.” The stunned pastor replied, “What on earth do you mean?” “Well,” said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.’ And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God’s flock.’ Then this past week I visited ...

1187. Sine Qua Non

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I read somewhere that a new Guinness World Record has been set for the world’s shortest sermon. An Episcopal priest stood up one Sunday morning, walked to his pulpit, stood there for a moment, and said one word: “LOVE.” Then he sat down. I know, some of you would like me to attempt a sermon like that one day. But it is not that easy. The word “love” is capable of many different meanings. Love is what a mother gives to her children. Love is what a thrice-divorced Hollywood actress is supposed to have for a ...

1188. Where Is My Guest Room?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In Dostoevski’s masterpiece THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV there is a scene in a courtroom after Dmitri has been sentenced to imprisonment in Siberia. He is so exhausted that he falls asleep on a bench. When he awakens, he finds that someone has placed a pillow under his head. He doesn’t know who has done the kind deed, but he is overjoyed. It is a sign of the goodness of life. He will go to prison, he says, and keep God’s name alive there, because he knows that God is alive in the world. The nameless, anonymous, ...

1189. The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Have you ever noticed that the great documents like this perfect pattern prayer, the Apostles'' Creed, the Nicene Creed, doctrinal statements of various church traditions, all affirm our need for forgiveness and God providing the means and methods by which we are forgiven? As we continue in our series on The Lord''s Prayer, I want to share with you why I believe this is the hardest petition for any of us to fulfill. To put it simply, it is difficult. To demonstrate how difficult it is to forgive, as soon ...

1190. Good Friday: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we gather in this sanctuary for the solemn day on the liturgical calendar which we call Good Friday. For some it is also known as BLACK FRIDAY. I want to share some thoughts and reflections from what historically has been designated as the FIRST WORD from the SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST from the Cross on Calvary. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the first words from the Cross deal with the issue of FORGIVENESS, and really, what is being implied is forgiveness of our sins. This ...

1191. With a Little Help from My Friends

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

There was an interesting article in People magazine recently. It was about a young man, eighteen-year-old Kevin Hines, who, in September of 2000, decided to give up his fight with depression by jumping off San Francisco’s Golden GateBridge. As he paced and cried along the bridge sidewalk, Kevin looked for someone who would talk him out of his crazy decision. If even one person expressed concern for him, then Kevin was prepared to back down. But not one passerby gave Kevin a second glance, with one ...

1192. Congratulations, You've Made the Team

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

Perhaps you remember, in high school or college, trying out for the varsity or junior varsity baseball, track, tennis, or football team. The competition was keen, you tried your level best, and finally the tryouts were concluded. A day or so later the bulletin board in the athletic department told the story. You stood there, and you read the list of those who made the team. Either your name was there or it was conspicuously absent. Joy or disappointment prevailed. Saint Paul is speaking to each of us this ...

1193. Death Leads to Life

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Long ago on a high mountaintop three trees were speaking about their future dreams. The first tree said, "I would really like to be made into a cradle so that a newborn baby might rest comfortably and I could support that new life." The second tree looked down at a small stream that was flowing into a big river and said, "I want to be made into a great ship so I can carry useful cargo to all corners of the world." The third tree viewed the valley from its mountaintop and said, "I don't want to be made into ...

1194. Excited!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It happened back in 1983. Only eight minutes and thirty-four seconds remained in a game between the University of Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Suddenly Wolf Pack running back, Otto Kelly, broke loose on an eighty-nine yard scamper and a touchdown, giving his team a 22-21 lead. During Kelly's run his coach, Chris Ault of the Wolf Pack, got so caught up in the excitement that he began racing down the sideline alongside Kelly. When Ault reached the FresnoState twenty-yard line, he ...

1195. He Is Not Here He Is Risen

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If I were not preaching through the Gospel of Mark these days, I would have probably chosen another Gospel from which to read the Easter story. All the other Gospels tell a fuller and more complete, even more dramatic, story of the Resurrection. Mark’s announcement of Easter is really understated. In Mark’s Gospel, the big day is Good Friday He builds up to that day for five chapters, beginning with Palm Sunday. I don’t know whether you’ve ever noted it or not, but the events of Holy Week take up one-third ...

1196. Living Deliberately

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson is taken from the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, beginning with the 7th and reading through the 18th verses. I’m reading from the Revised Standard Version. This is the word of the Lord. “So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and ...

1197. The Secret: Christ In You

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It's an awesome responsibility to preach. One of my heroes, Bishop Gerald Kennedy, was fond of telling of the Church of England Bishop who remarked that a sermon is something a clergy person will cross a continent to deliver, but will not walk across the street to hear. There may be more truth in that than most of us will admit. Yet, when we get beyond our egoes and our yet unredeemed arrogance, we know that preaching is an awesome responsibility. And especially is it so at a high hour such as this when we ...

1198. How To Be Rich And Poor

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One day, Herman and Clara were riding along in their shiny new car. Clara spoke up and said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this wonderful new car." Herman just sat there and didn't say a word. As they pulled into their driveway, Herman turned off the engine. They quietly admired their beautiful home and Clara said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this house." Herman just sat there and didn't say a word. That afternoon, a ...

1199. Getting Our Lives Out Of Hock

Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many of you know my struggle between like-dislike, appreciation-confusion, with Gary Larson's "Far Side" cartoons. I vacillate between like-dislike, appreciation-confusion. I keep on reading them, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's because he gives me something now and then to flavor a sermon. Such is the case with this one. It depicts a bug resting on a leaf which gently sways over a lovely pond. The bug is on his back in the crook of the leaf, his ankles are crossed, and two of his six arms are ...

1200. My Prayer For You: Barefoot Days of the Soul

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Not long ago Harry and Penny Johnson came to see us. Many of you know them – they are charter members of this congregation. Harry is working on a profile of the three senior ministers that have preceded Bill Bouknight here at Christ Church. It is a part of a project for the library and the history of the church. He asked me to recall some of my early boyhood experiences. I shared one of my favorites: springtime and when my mother would give us permission to go barefooted. During those growing-up years, we ...

Showing results