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 1251 to 1275 of 4936 results

1251. Bear the Light

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The five year old nephew of the bride was chosen to be in charge of carrying the rings down the aisle. At the wedding rehearsal he was unusually unruly. He kept leaping out at people, baring his teeth at and then chasing the flower girls. He growled and snarled as he practiced going down the aisle. He brandished the pillow like a pistol. Finally his mother pulled him aside and demanded to know why he was behaving so badly. “But Mom,” he explained, “I have to act fierce — I’m the ‘Ring Bear.’” Like so many ...

1252. Why Are You So Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Karen Fair tells about her three-year-old daughter, Abby, who was having trouble sleeping through the night. She kept waking up because she was afraid. Each time Karen tucked her into bed again, she would remind her that Jesus was with her and that He would keep her safe. The sleepless nights continued, with Abby seeking comfort in her parents’ bedroom. Finally, one night Karen asked her daughter if she had prayed for Jesus to take her fear away and help her fall asleep. “Oh yes,” Abby assured her. “He ...

1253. Two Sinners

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

To learn how Americans feel about prayer, Life magazine once interviewed dozens of people. One person they talked to was a prostitute, age twenty-four, in White Pine County, Nevada. “I don’t think about my feelings a lot,” she said. “Instead I lie in my bed and think [about God]. I meditate because sometimes my words don’t come out right. But he can find me. He can find what’s inside of me just by listening to my thoughts. I ask him to help me and keep me going. A lot of people think working girls don’t ...

1254. Abimelech

Judges 9:1-57

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

The Rise of Abimelech: The story of Abimelech reveals the depths of degeneracy to which Israel had fallen in their rebellion against the Lord. Abimelech, evil as he was, was able to accomplish what he did because he exploited Israel’s tribal chauvinism and perverse desire for an earthly king, which gave expression to their inner rebellion against the One who already was king in Israel (8:23). Israel got what it deserved in Abimelech. Here, for the first time in Judges, the oppressing power came from within ...

1255. A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Time: Qohelet turns here to a consideration of “time.” The poem on time (3:1–8) is the most familiar passage in the book of Ecclesiastes, and is used in settings from funerals to folk-rock concerts. In the poem, pairs of opposites illustrate that there is a proper time for all human activity. When it is read in isolation from its context, the poem provides the reader with a sense of comfort and reassurance. There is a time for everything. In the unpleasant seasons of life, one can recognize that there will ...

1256. Dr. Jekyll Meet Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote an unforgettable story about a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde. Most of you know the story well. Dr. Henry Jekyll was respected in his community--a gentleman in every respect. But Dr. Jekyll had some secret vices which he kept carefully hidden from public view. Thus Dr. Jekyll had a dilemma faced by some people today--he wanted to maintain his reputation in the community, but be free to practice the vices that he knew would be repulsive to his neighbors. So Dr. Jekyll hatched a ...

1257. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

These verses are often referred to as an excursus on love, and there are good reasons for this description. Remarkably, in this extended meditation on love Paul does not write about loving: there is no statement here that X loves Y. Love itself is the actor or the object of reflection. This beautiful passage never attempts to offer an abstract definition of love; rather, Paul rehearses critical characteristics of love and states in practical terms what love is and isn’t or does and doesn’t do. The verses ...

1258. Rebirth

John 3:14-21

Sermon

John Jamison

The city of Jerusalem was packed with strangers during the Passover feast, so you could walk a long distance and never see anyone you recognized. He was counting on that, as he quickly moved along the streets with his head held low and his face covered. He moved from alleyway to alleyway, looking carefully in all directions before stepping into the openness of a street, making sure there was not someone who might recognize him. But while he tried to remain hidden, he had to be careful to not appear too ...

1259. Close Calls

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Have you ever had a close call? Have you ever been in an accident where you almost died? Have you ever been overwhelmed by an event or loss so great that you wondered how you would ever get through it? When a close call came, have you ever felt that God either didn't care or that he was asleep because you couldn't reach him? That is what is going on in our story, the story of the apostles in a little boat during a violent storm on a lake called Galilee where the wind rushes down from the hills with such ...

1260. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Everywhere Jesus went, people flocked to him. They wanted what he was offering. They wanted inspiration. They wanted healing. They wanted God. Mark's gospel tells us that "so many people were coming and going they (Jesus and the apostles) did not even have a chance to eat" (Mark 6:31). That coming and going provided a chaotic atmosphere for Jesus' ministry. That chaos meant that even before Jesus got to a town, the mass of admirers and hangers-on rushed ahead of him and waited for his arrival (Mark 6:33). ...

1261. Listening 101

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

Somewhere in my life I heard someone say something like, “The challenge with John (the gospel writer) is he is better at theatre than at writing.” The implications of this comment were about passages such as this one about Jesus and the woman of Samaria. Today’s reading is long enough that when read you begin to lose your place. But as drama (theatre) you can remember it well. You remember a woman coming to a well and an encounter with a strange man at a historic landmark of faith. You recognize that this ...

1262. More Than Enough

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Forty percent of all the food that is produced in the United States is thrown away. That’s about twenty pounds per person per month, a total of about 33 million tons or $165 billion worth of edible, nutritious food per year. Discarded food is the second highest component of landfills in this country that as it decays, becomes a significant contributor to methane emissions.1 Worldwide, western, industrialized countries waste about 30% of all produced food, an annual total of about 220 million tons, an ...

1263. The Darkest Hour

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: NARRATOR (the only speaking part), JESUS, two SOLDIERS, PILATE, a PRIEST, three WOMEN, and a MAN Length: 8 minutes NOTE: Due to the scope of the Passion Readings and the fact that the readings are the same for all cycles, the Good Friday skits have been arranged as a series. Cycle "A" covers John 18:1-12, Cycle "B" covers John 18:13-40, and Cycle "C" covers John 19:1-30. Each skit is complete in itself, but the three may be strung together to cover the entire Passion in one presentation. Or they may ...

1264. Forgiven!

Sermon

Lee Griess

John 12:1-8 On a recent religious talk show the hostess was interviewing a young woman who had just recently come to know Christ and had been received into the church. Until her recent conversion, she had lived on the wrong side of the tracks, lived in the fast lane, and teetered on the brink of destruction. So overwhelming was the sense of forgiveness that this young woman practically gushed with joy as she spoke. "I can't express," she said, "the sense of gratitude that I feel that God has changed my ...

1265. Made New By Getting Lost

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

For those of you who have come here feeling lost, I have good news for you. For those of you who have come here willing to get lost, I have even better news. The good news is "fear not." The God we worship specializes in finding lost people. The God we worship gives life the moment we lose ours for the sake of heavenly causes. Our text has two words that become backdrops for the entire season of Advent. Those words are "wilderness" and "about face." John comes out of the wilderness, the necessary passage ...

1266. Forgiven!

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

On a recent religious talk show the hostess was interviewing a young woman who had just recently come to know Christ and had been received into the church. Until her recent conversion, she had lived on the wrong side of the tracks, lived in the fast lane, and teetered on the brink of destruction. So overwhelming was the sense of forgiveness that this young woman practically gushed with joy as she spoke. "I can't express," she said, "the sense of gratitude that I feel that God has changed my life." The talk ...

1267. Humility

Luke 3:1-20, Isaiah 40:1-31

Drama

Martha L. Leach

Characters: Moses John the Baptist Narrator Theme: Humility Narrator: At one point in their career, the disciples asked Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" We suppose they were hoping Jesus' answer would be, "Why, you, of course. You who gave up everything to follow me." Instead Jesus called to him a child and told the disciples, "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the ...

1268. The Darkest Hour

Drama

Pamela Urfer

1269. The Ultimate Question

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

We have often heard it stated that a person's wisdom is measured, not by the questions that he answers, but by the questions that he asks. If I were to ask you what the ultimate question in life was, you might, because I am a clergyman or a theologian, reply that the most important question a person can ask is: "Does God really exist?" And you would have missed completely. We know, for instance, that if you ask that question of Americans, about ninety-five percent of them would affirm that there is a God ...

1270. Why Aspire to Sainthood?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

Today on the church calendar is designated All Saints’ Sunday. It is a time for remembering persons who through the generations have been so outstanding in faith and ministry that their lives have been a special blessing to all who have known them. As someone has said, they have adorned the Gospel of Jesus Christ, though it might be better to say they received the Gospel so fully that it adorned and glorified them. Who are the saints? How many can you name? Saint Peter? Saint Stephen? Saints Matthew, Mark ...

1271. OUR LORD FORSAKEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

As the winds rose and the black sky threatened to unleash its wrath the crowd on the hillside began to melt away, small groups and pairs and an occasional individual hurried toward the dark, brooding buildings of the city. Even the morbid attraction of a crucifixion could not hold the fickle mob against the portent of the fury of a spring storm. At the last there were few to witness the deaths of the crucified or their laborious descent from the crosses. The four soldiers who had made up the crucifixion ...

1272. When The Risen Christ Comes Looking For Us

John 21:15-25

Sermon

James W. Moore

On November 1, 1972, our family left West Tennessee and moved to Shreveport, Louisiana so I could join the staff of the First United Methodist Church there as the preaching associate. For the next 12 years, I had the distinct, unique, and amazing experience of working side by side daily with Dr. D. L. Dykes. Dr. Dykes was without question… one of the greatest preachers I have ever heard, one of the most creative and innovative leaders I have ever known, and one of the most lovingly colorful and eccentric ...

1273. My Younger Brother Gets Away With Everything

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Let me ask you a question, and I want you to stand if this applies to you. How many of you are the oldest child in your family? How many first-borns do we have? Would you stand? O.K., thank you. Please be seated. Now, how many of you were the baby in your family? Would you stand, please? Thank you. Now, for those in the first group ” the oldest children. How many of you felt like the baby of the family got away with things you never could have gotten away with? Would you stand, please? Have you ever ...

1274. Searching For Jesus

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite pieces of irreverent humor concerns a sign outside a First United Methodist Church. The sermon titles for the coming Sunday were listed: 11:00 a.m. "Jesus: Walking on the Water"; 7:00 p.m. "Searching for Jesus." More to the point is a news story from sometime back. It was about a 5-year-old Texas boy who was accidentally left behind at a Nashville, Tennessee, service station. Tyler Payne got out of the family station wagon to use the rest room, then couldn't get out of the building ...

1275. Mustard Seed Faith

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Mackie Shilstone is 5'8" and weighs only 137 pounds, but he trains some of the largest professional athletes in the countryfor example, pro basketball player Ralph Sampson, St. Louis shortstop Ozzie Smith, Will Clark of the Giants, Billy Hobbley of the Harlem Globetrotters. Mackie is not content just to train athletes physically. He wants to help change their lifestyles and ways of thinking as well. "I tell my athletes that they do have control over what their attitude will be about life. Their positive ...

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