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 1201 to 1225 of 2561 results

1201. The Job Description of a Leader

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

If the church is to make a difference in the world, every one of its members must begin to act and think like leaders. Leadership is not for the few and the special, the exception rather than the expected. Whether this mysterious thing called "leadership" comes naturally or is an acquired talent, every Christian must come to terms with it. A biblical style of leadership and language of leadership must become endemic in the church. In the Old Testament and Gospel lessons for this week both David and Jesus ...

1202. Grits, Grats and Gruts...Not Grunts

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"Where there's a will...." This sermon brings together the financial concept of needing to have a will with the faith concept of needing to have a willing nature, to help people see the complex interconnections between the spiritual and the material, our will and our work, our desires and our deeds. The good news is that by continually flexing our spiritual willpower we can experience redeeming acts of resurrection in our lives. Do you have a will? Everyone needs one. You must not die without it. Do you ...

1203. Three Wise Gifts

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Three gifts, if given this Christmastide, will do nothing less than heal the world. Two thousand years ago, gold, frankincense and myrrh were worth (in today's equivalents), six hundred, five hundred and four thousand dollars per pound, respectively. A similar gift today (frankincense and myrrh have declined in value, gold has increased) would set a 20th century king back six thousand dollars for the gold, but only fifteen dollars apiece for frankincense and myrrh. The Magi celebrated the Christ child with ...

1204. Hello!?

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When we find ourselves shrinking, shirking, shivering and sniveling in fear and doubt, God breaks through to say: "Hello!?" A Harris survey commissioned by United Airlines found that 38 percent of passengers never use the lavatory during a flight, 60 percent do, and another 2 percent aren't sure. "Hello!?" I'm fascinated by that 2 percent. But I sure hope I never sit next to one of them on a flight! "Hello!?!" Did you read about Julee Sharik, from Orem, Utah. She gave birth to a 7-pound, 5-ounce son, just ...

1205. Be an Energizer Bunny

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

To be filled with the Spirit is to keep going, and going, and going.... One hundred or even just 50 years ago, congregational singing sounded much different than it does today. While we would recognize many of the tunes and titles of the favorite hymns being sung, the sound of these songs was quite different. Every congregation no matter how large or how small sang in four-part harmony. Soprano, alto, tenor and bass lines blended together to create a rich, layered sound in each hymn. Male and female voices ...

1206. The Oblivious Obvious

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There are times when it's necessary and important to state the obvious. Such a time is now. Question: What do Smokey the Bear, Winnie the Pooh and John the Baptist have in common? Answer: The same middle name. Why is the obvious so oblivious, so hard for us to see? Dr. Samuel Johnson once observed: "Never be afraid to state the obvious. It is what most people have forgotten." As a pastor, out doing some home visitation, climbed the steps to the porch of one of his parishioners, he heard the sound of a ...

1207. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Jesus is pictured in today's text as wanting a break. Nonstop teaching and preaching before huge, pressing crowds had left him drained and exhausted. Note the abruptness about verses 35-36. Jesus offers no dismissal to the crowd. He extends no final blessing over them. Instead, he turns to his disciples and announces, "We're out of here;" or in more traditional verbiage, "Let us go across to the other side." Their movement is immediate. The disciples "leave" the crowd but the Greek used here, aphiemi, ...

1208. Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Explosive, dramatic events occur throughout Acts 2 - tongues of fire, wafts of wind, dazzling displays of language and discernment, Peter's vivid testimony, the conversion of thousands, etc. These stunning occurrences leave us breathless - for where there had been only a handful of halting believers before, there is suddenly a whole new community of enthusiastic, faithful Christians. If we had never before read Acts, if we knew nothing of the early history of the Christian church, we might expect one of ...

1209. The Gifts of Word and Table

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Mike Ripski

Turn in The Hymnal to the very front – where the pattern for worship is located. Note the title given to the way we Christians worship together. Our worship is a Service of Word and Table. This morning’s text illustrates how the risen Christ meets us through Scripture and Sacrament. PART I (Luke 24:13-28 is read.) It is Easter evening. Two who’d been part of the Jesus Movement were heading home to Emmaus, about 7 miles outside Jerusalem. They are trying to make sense of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. ...

1210. Heart-Healthy Christians

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Beach and bathing suit season has begun. And I’ve noticed something I wonder if you’ll agree with me. The coolest new hot trend is “tiny.” No, not tiny swimsuits those have long been fashionable, at least since Brian Hyland’s 1960 hit single “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Polka Dot Bikini.” No, the new big thing is small . . . small and smaller portions of food. Worrying over waistlines has encouraged the food industry to re-package their goodies into “100 Calorie” snack bags. Teenie Weenie versions of Oreo, ...

1211. Tear Down This Wall!

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

King Duncan

On June 12, 1987 former President Ronald Reagan spoke in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall. In his speech he issued a direct challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union. Here are the best-known words from that speech: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Twenty-nine months later ...

1212. “Bad Form” and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus is ALWAYS Third Class . . . The rankings of first, second and third class date from the days of the stage coach. You couldn’t tell the difference between the three inside the stage coach. Every person was seated without distinction. But when the stage came to the hill, the distinctions emerged. The second-class passengers had to get out and walk. The first class passengers remained in the coach. The third-class passengers had to get out and push. Jesus is ALWAYS third class . . . and when people who ...

1213. Bad Form and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

1214. Walking in Circles

John 6:1-15

Illustration

King Duncan

You may know the famous story of Jean Henri Fabre, the French naturalist, and his processional caterpillars. He encountered some of these interesting creatures one day while walking in the woods. They were marching in a long unbroken line front to back, front to back. What fun it would be, Fabre thought, to make a complete ring with these worms and let them march in a circle. So, Fabre captured enough caterpillars to encircle the rim of a flowerpot. He linked them nose to posterior and started them walking ...

1215. Can't Get No Satisfaction

Exodus 20:17

Sermon

James Merritt

It came to guitarist, Keith Richards, literally in the middle of the night. He woke up, recorded the lyrics on a cassette tape player and went back to sleep. Three weeks later, the Rolling Stones recorded that song and it became their first number one hit, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States and it became their launching pad to fame. Mick Jagger, who wrote the lyrics to the song, said at the time it simply expressed his frustration with the consumerism and commercialism he found in the ...

1216. Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

James Merritt

I wonder if anybody here can relate to what the great theologian and philosopher, Irma Bombeck, once said: I've always worried a lot, and frankly I'm good at it. I worry about introducing people and going blank when I get to my mother. I worry about a shortage of ball bearings, a snake coming up through the kitchen drain. I worry about the world ending at midnight and getting stuck with three hours on a twenty-four hour cold capsule. I worry about getting into the Guinness World Book of Records under " ...

1217. Anxiety Alert – The Fear of the Future

Matthew 6:34

Sermon

James Merritt

Ever since 9/11 we have instituted in this country the Homeland Security Advisory System. Though you haven't memorized it, I am sure you are familiar with it. It looks like this. [Put on Screen]. These levels are assigned based on information gathered by our intelligence agencies to help us be prepared for potential terror attacks in the future. Whether you know it or not, you use this same system every day of your life to chart your level of anxiety. Follow this scenario and chart your "anxiety alert ...

1218. Finish the Drill

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to complete this sentence: ". It's not how you start, it's how you finish that counts." I am convinced that is true because of an article someone sent to me that said the best way to achieve inner peace is to always finish things that you start.ed. This person that sent me the article said "it is definitely working for me. I now make a point of always finishing what I start and I am well on my way toward finding inner peace. Here are the things I have finished today:" Two bags of potato chips A ...

1219. Law and Order

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to show you two pictures. The first picture is of a house [show picture]. The second picture is the family that lives in that house. [show picture]. Which is more valuable? The house or The family Which can make the greatest impact for God? The House or The Family Which is going to last for all eternity? The House or The Family Which is God more interested in building? The House or The Family Now those questions are very important as we come to the eighth chapter of Nehemiah. The people have finally ...

1220. The Easter Era

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Most of us probably enjoy taking part in Easter rituals both here at church and at home. There are things we have done since we were children, and we're glad to pass them on to the next generation. Some of these practices are deeply religious. We may have taken part in solemn Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, or greeted the Easter Sunrise with song and celebration! Some of the practices may be a little secular, but we practice them religiously as well — breaking our Lenten fasts with a special ...

1221. Simeon and Anna: The Quiet of the Country

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In the movie, “A Patch of Blue”, the blind girl asks her grandfather, “Old Paw, what’s green like?” The irritated man answers: “Green is green, stupid. Now stop asking questions.” There follows a poignant scene in which the young girl claws the grass with her hands and gently rubs a leaf against her cheek, trying to experience the reality of “greenness”. That is a parable of the human situation. We want to experience reality. We try to dissect it, claw at it, analyze it, explain it. God helps us here. When ...

1222. No Room At The Inn

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Luke 2:1-7 (NRSV) [1] In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. [2] This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3] All went to their own towns to be registered. [4] Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. [5] He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a ...

1223. Overcoming Obstacles - Together

Luke 2:1-7, Psalm 107:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There was a businessman who had five kids, his wife stayed home to care the kids. And it never failed, he'd come home from work and Mom, needing the care and advice of another adult, would begin to tell him all the things that went wrong during the day. And which of the kids needed further disciplining from Dad. One day the stress of work got to Dad, as Mom regaled him with the various trouble HIS children had gotten into and he lost it. "Honey, just once, just once couldn't you greet me at the door with ...

1224. The Adventure Begins

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A third-grade Sunday school teacher was giving a lesson on the commandment, "Honor thy father and mother." "Now, does anyone know a commandment for brothers and sisters?" she asked. One sharp girl raised her hand and said, "Thou salt not kill." (1) A first and second grade class Sunday teacher says that when she asked what the two main divisions of the Bible are, one little boy responded "The Old Intestine and the New Intestine." (2) Every page of this Book is filled with part of the Adventure. From the ...

1225. Discover The Joy Of Christmas

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I sure hope the next 12 days of Christmas aren't like that for you and your family. There are truly 12 days until Christmas. Can you believe it? We've still got leftover Halloween Candy and wasn't yesterday Thanksgiving? Time screams by this time of year. This is a hectic time of year. That's why paying attention to the signs of Christmas and getting our hearts and souls ready is so important. If we don't we might miss it. A few years ago I read an Ad in the Thrifty Nickel which read: "We cater to Clutter ...

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