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 4936 results

1201. Bearing the Marks of Christ

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

James W. Moore

When I was a young boy, our family made a vacation trip to East Texas one summer to visit relatives there. One of the vivid memories of that trip was a tour of a Texas ranch… where we watched some cowboys hard at work… branding their steers. A mark was made on each steer to dramatically and clearly signify who his owner was. Something like that was done to human beings in Biblical times. In New Testament times, slavery was quite common. Slaves were regarded as pieces of property… and they were marked with ...

1202. Seeking Christ

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometime back Dr. Phil Berry took a picture outside a roadside convenience store. The store was on the Texas border on the highway leading to Colorado. It was one of those portable advertising signs with flashing lights along the top meant to lure in passersby. At the top of the sign it read, “Last chance Lotto Texas, clean restrooms, snacks.” Then, at the bottom of the sign, almost like an afterthought, it read, “Jesus is Lord.” “It’s like, on the way out of Texas, whatever you need, they have it,” says ...

1203. “Trust in the Lord and Do Good”

Psalm 37:1-40

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Whatever disconsolation the prosperity of the wicked may create for the righteous, they can find consolation in trusting the Lord and doing good. Understanding the Text Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm replete with wisdom terms (see the sidebar “Wisdom Psalms”).[1] The subject of the prosperity of the wicked is a typical topic of wisdom, here expressed particularly in proverbial truths (37:16, 17, 21–22, 37). The literary form is the alphabetic acrostic, using all twenty-two letters of the Hebrew ...

1204. Hold Me When I'm Angry

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carl Jech

The Shadow: Anger Introduction Why was All In the Family such a popular television program? I suspect it was because the "love-hate" relationships between Archie, Mike, Gloria and Edith helped us better to understand the ways in which our love is mixed with anger, our joys are mixed with pain, and our laughter is tinged with sadness and pathos. Even longsuffering Edith with her good-natured naivete could get angry. Who can forget the time when she tells Archie to "stiffle!"? Or the episode where Archie ...

1205. Judgment Day

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Steven E. Albertin

Characters: Man and Woman Scene: The entrance to eternity. (A man sits at a desk, papers before him. Woman enters. She goes to the man and stands quietly. The man looks up.) Man: Heaven on your right -- hell on your left. Woman: (Looking at the doors, in awe) You mean that door leads to heaven ... and that one to hell? Man: That is correct. Please don't take too long. There are others waiting. Woman: But ... what do I do? Man: You go through one of them. Woman: You mean I have the choice? Man: That is ...

1206. The Burdens Of The Past

Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

Recently a young man who participates in Civil War reenactments was giving a talk about his hobby. He shared with the group how a soldier in that war carried his own food supply with him. A bag of food weighed about seven pounds. The rifle he carried weighed ten pounds. The blanket and backpack weighed another forty pounds. This means the typical soldier in the Civil War carried over fifty pounds of material and weaponry with him all the time. Carrying that much weight must have been a heavy burden that ...

1207. No Appeal

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

The case went to court. For our purposes, "the whys and wherefores" do not matter. The case went to court because someone believed he was being treated unfairly. The court, he believed, would be persuaded to his point of view and he would be proven right. He would get justice after all. He told his neighbors he was sure the court would be bound to see it his way. He knew it; and as if to drive the point home, he would clench his fist and pound the table whenever he said it. He knew the truth, and being ...

1208. No Angels, No Shepherds, No Star

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a Christmas pageant presented by a class of four-year-olds and it was an evening to remember. It began with the three virgin Marys marching out onto the stage. As they stood there, they, of course, were waving to their parents. It’s not every Christmas pageant that has three virgin Marys, but over the years the school had acquired three Mary costumes, and so, quite naturally the script was revised. This gave a chance for more children to be involved and kept down the squabbling over who got the ...

1209. The Thrill of Victory

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

The three astronauts, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise, were having a wonderful time watching planet earth become a sun-drenched white dot against the canopy of outer space, while the bright white moon was larger than they had ever seen it. Then, without warning, it happened. Lovell heard a small, but distinct, bang. Swigert felt an almost imperceptible shudder; then the master alarm began sounding in their ear phones. The pulse rate of all three astronauts shot up from 70 to 130. What they did not ...

1210. It’s Time to Grow Up

Ephesians 4:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to listen again to two lines in this song. Between who you are and who you could be Between how it is and how it should be If that tension is in your life, I am going to dare you to move. I am going to dare you to move to the next level of spiritual growth in your life – to move from where you are now to where you could be on the road to both spiritual life and spiritual maturity. What I want to say to many of you today is something that we all tell our kids (or one day you will tell your kids) ...

1211. Thanks for Receiving Thanksgiving

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

This wonderful chapter of Deuteronomy speaks to us on this Thanksgiving Day of the forms for the presentation of the abundance of a good harvest. The verses suggest that only those who are in communion with the giver can present the gift with a clean heart. It was the custom at the time of the telling of this story that each year, a basket containing firstfruits of the soil was to be brought to the central sanctuary and presented to God. The Bible tells us that firstfruits for the people described in ...

1212. The Shepherd Lord

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Henry Ward Beecher called this 23rd Psalm “the nightingale of the Psalms.” This beloved poem – one of the most familiar passages in Scripture had filled the whole world with melodrama and has been “a very present help for time of trouble.” You know I have never preached a sermon on this Psalm and I’ve been preaching for more than 30 years. I’ve quoted it at funerals and weddings. I’ve shared it as comfort with sick folk. I don’t know how many times I have laid my hands on the forehead of a dying person - ...

1213. Passing the Test

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

"Students, it is time to get out your pencils, close your books and remove any notes from your desks. The test is about to begin." Those are words that make us shudder, our hearts start to pound and the palms of our hands begin to sweat. From our earliest days in school, we all have had to learn to deal with tests. It may begin with a simple first grade spelling test. But it doesn't take too long before it morphs into ISTEP, the SAT, the Bar, the Boards, or a doctoral qualifying exam. Or it might be as ...

1214. When Is Enough...Enough?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Comedienne Joan Rivers who died last year once said something with which many people would agree. “People say that money isn’t the key to happiness,” said Joan Rivers, “but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.” “I always figured if you have enough money . . .” says Joan Rivers. How much is enough money? That is a good question. A Hollywood film editor once said, “I had this date the other night with a woman who wanted to walk along the beach. I’m wearing a twelve?hundred ...

1215. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

If you’re my age or older you may remember Homer and Jethro. They were a comedy team who specialized in country music parodies and satire. They were sometimes referred to as “the thinking man’s hillbillies.” One of their routines went like this: HOMER: Jethro, if you was to win the Irish sweepstakes for two million dollars, would you give me half? JETHRO: Why, Homer, you’re my best and closest friend. You know I would. HOMER: I do know you would. That’s what friendship is all about. HOMER: Jethro, if you ...

1216. God Is Like...a Comforter

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

If you were asked to name the invention that has had the greatest impact on daily life in the past century, what would you say? The electric light bulb, the automobile? You could make a strong case for either of them. I’d add another to the list: central heating. Some of you, like me, grew up in homes that had no central heating. You may remember gathering around the kitchen stove to change clothes in the morning and going up the stairs at night to a frigid bedroom. You’d crawl between icy sheets and then ...

1217. Much Obliged

Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalm 116:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is a quaint expression that you often hear in the rural sections of our country. Instead of saying "thank you," folks say, "Much obliged." It's really a beautiful expression. "Much obliged" means that I am much obligated to you for what you have done for me. I want to declare that we are a "much obliged" people this morning. I call us to do exactly what that old beloved hymn from the brown Cokesbury hymnal advised, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God ...

1218. The Truth about Warren Buffet's Secretary

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

King Duncan

The election is now behind us. I guess it’s safe for me to talk about Warren Buffet’s secretary. In case you’ve been on a deserted island somewhere cut off from all media, Warren Buffet, one of the richest men on earth and a prominent Democrat, caused quite a stir sometime back when he said that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her salary in taxes than he pays. That is because wages are taxed differently than are investments, and wealthy people have a clear advantage in accumulating more wealth ...

1219. A Sermon About Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

A responsible pastor must have a theology of prayer that goes beyond churchy axioms, pious clichés, pop theology, and Bible verses proof texted from the King James Bible. An authentic theology of prayer must offer hope in the promise that God answers prayer, but it must also be prepared to respond to the questions of those whose prayers “availeth not.” We must be, at once, ready to celebrate with those whose cancer went into remission and to weep with those whose cancer didn’t, when both persons’ prayers ...

1220. Letting Go

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

RICHARD A. GOODLING is an ordained United Church of Christ minister whose Ph.D. is in clinical psychology. In addition to being Professor of Pastoral Psychology at the Divinity School at Duke University, he is the Director and a Staff Counselor with the Pastoral Care and Counseling Institute of Durham-Chapel Hill, Inc. His sermon Letting Go was preached at a chapel service in the divinity school. In it he speaks pastorally and artistically of the necessity of surrendering our cherished and familiar ways of ...

1221. No Box Seats In The Kingdom

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

William G. Carter

Historically speaking, the church has usually painted a pretty picture of the twelve original disciples of Jesus. All except Judas have been considered saints. Pious people have named churches after them, often referring to the first disciples as the rocks upon which Christ has built his church. Yet anybody who hears the Gospel of Mark's stories about the disciples gets a different picture of who they were and what they wanted. Sure, the disciples walked the road with Jesus. They listened as he taught. ...

1222. Jacob’s Dream - A Dream Come True W. Dexter Moser

Genesis 27:1-40

Sermon

Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed ... Genesis 28:11-12 Jacob, with much patience, after many years finally married Rachel. In their nomadic life as shepherds, they, Jacob and Rachel, could have understood a song we sang around the campfire during a summer gathering at Lutheridge. I had a dream dear, you had one too mine was the best dream I ever knew; Come, sweetheart, tell me now is the time You tell me your dream and I will ...

1223. Hindering Riches

Matthew 19:16-30

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

Shortly after the opening of the popular off-Broadway show, Godspell, in the summer of 1971, Cheryl A. Forbes made an interesting observation about it. She said that the show was for the young, in conception and spirit. It was written, acted, and sung by young people to give young people an answer to their despair. But she pointed out that not many youth were there to get the message; the audiences were mainly adult. "The probable reason," she said, "is that the kids can’t afford to come, since ticket ...

1224. Half-Price Crosses

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In a jewelry store window of a large shopping center, a sign was posted which read: "Crosses for sale, half-price." That sign just set my mind to reeling with its implications. In our culture it means very little to wear a cross. For many it is a meaningless piece of jewelry. When the singer Madonna wears a cross, her audience does not presume she is making a faith statement. Perhaps a fashion statement, but not a faith statement. I am convinced that were it not for all the jewelry, lots of major league ...

1225. Resurrection: From Sin to a Second Chance

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

The afternoon sun was waning as the shepherd boy, David, led his sheep down the well-worn path that led from the green pastures to the pool of still water where his flock would quench their thirst before heading back to the fold. He glanced back at the flock following him; then stopped and looked more closely. Where was Ayin, his big ram? One of the lambs was gone, too. The shepherd boy shaded his eyes against the late afternoon sun. In the distance he saw the big ram lumbering down the hill along a ...

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