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 1301 to 1325 of 3926 results

1301. Invitation To Community

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... keep a long-term commitment when popular books push instant gratification and self-help. It is not easy to pledge your troth to anybody in a "me-first" society. God wants us to live in peace with one another. Therefore the church is called to support and strengthen marriages, for a marriage is the smallest form of community. As the Presbyterian wedding service announces, "God gave us marriage for the well-being of human society." We cannot expect peace in our world unless we claim some sense of peace in our ...

1302. Double Image

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... as we approach a new century, the moral climate has changed. Pastors increasingly hear people admit that they are not sure what they believe. Life in the '90s is perplexing and ambiguous. People want guidance. They ask for direction. As one frustrated woman said to her support group, "Don't just sit there and accept me -- tell me what I need to hear!" Churches in our time that offer simple answers to complex questions of right and wrong are churches that seem to grow quickly, much to the chagrin of those of ...

1303. A Blessing Behind Locked Doors

John 20:19-23

Sermon

William G. Carter

... , an indication that nothing can separate us from the love of God. More than that, it is also a sign that, in Christ, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of one another. When we pass the peace, we show our solidarity and support. Our gestures announce, "In the Risen Christ, God has stood for us, so today we stand with one another." Some time ago, there was a newspaper story about Ian O'Gorman, an 11-year-old boy who was undergoing chemotherapy. Ian wasn't feeling well. Doctors discovered ...

1304. Pass It On

John 1:43-51

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... . Leslie Weatherhead, the English pastor and psychologist, told about a young, brilliant doctor he met in London who was making a number of experiments in a laboratory that was attached to the university. He was doing cancer research and his work was supported by some of the most distinguished scientists in London. Weatherhead said he watched him work in a small, ill-ventilated room in the basement of the university. The doctor told Weatherhead that if these experiments turned out as successfully as he had ...

1305. The Demanding Crowd

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... the church that God intends for us to be? Are we busy doing the right things? What is the right thing? Our task is to hear, proclaim, teach, and spread the good news of God's love for all people in Jesus Christ. We do many things through support groups, self-help programs, recreation of all kinds, sports teams, and social and mission outreach. Every one of them is related to the gospel in some way or another. We must not forget in all of our activity that our purpose is to proclaim the Word and administer ...

1306. He Abides In Us

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... also puts to shame a whole bevy of people who produce nothing worthwhile even though they have use of all of their faculties. It is not difficult for us to erect or choose standards that are really means for us to be able to rationalize some support for our own viewpoints. More often than not, we elect standards for satisfying our own egos. It is not difficult at all to create a whole range of contrasts in individuals. Yet we would not be able to judge them adequately, because we have no proper basis ...

1307. Resist Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... evil. What this suggests to us is that Jesus was hounded by temptation. At the same time the "angels waited on him." Those conditions were to be the same all the way to the cross. Jesus would be tempted on all sides, but God also sent his ministering angels to support him in resisting the evil. That is our comfort also. We would still have to be in doubt as to what the outcome would be, were it not for the fact that our Lord was victorious. For our sake he was victorious in the wilderness, all the way to ...

1308. Hate Evil

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... than light." That was the same way in which the Israelites said they preferred the days of slavery in Egypt to the freedom under God in the desert. In the same way the world is in the dark today. There is all kind of evidence to support that also. There was a time when the great thinkers of the world, the philosophers, struggled with the great questions concerning life. The philosophers of the past wrestled with questions about God and the nature of people. Today that exercise of stretching the mind to try ...

1309. The Ascension of Our Lord

Luke 24:36-49

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... a formidable task: to preach repentance and forgiveness to the world. But, instead of sending them out immediately, he instructs them to return to Jerusalem to await the divine power (identified in Acts as none other than the Spirit) that will support their efforts. *Roman Catholic see Holy Trinity Sunday. Liturgical Color White Suggested Hymns Up Through Endless Ranks Of Angels Lord, Enthroned In Heavenly Splendor Alleluia! Sing To Jesus A Hymn Of Glory Let Us Sing! The Ascension Of Our Lord Continuous ...

1310. Christian Penance as Closet Piety

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:16-18

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Of The Depths I Cry To You Ash Wednesday Lord, help us to remember that everything begins and ends with you. We are aware of the countless times we have abandoned you. We repeatedly turn away from you and look in other places for guidance, strength and support. We are routinely disappointed. We should know better, but we do it anyway. Your love calls us back again and again, and your patience with us is endless. We do not want to take you for granted, even though we often act like it. Cleanse us completely ...

1311. Easter 4

John 10:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... call for commitment and sacrifice. We need a clear picture of what is truly going on in our lives. Teach us to love what you love and to do what you want us to do with our lives. Grant us the strength to let go of every false sense of support and to lay hold of your promise of life, now and forever. Amen.

1312. The Inner Demands of God's Law

Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:21-26

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... ? What is the "bottom line"? GRACE is the "bottom line"! GRACE means that our sincere repentance is accepted. GRACE means that you love us the way we are but you also love us too much to leave us that way! GRACE means that our desire to improve is encouraged and supported by God's Holy Spirit. GRACE means that God has crossed over all of the lines and, through Jesus Christ, has written our names into the Book of Life. Amen.

1313. Moses's New Job

Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... not cooperate. But we have made up our minds. Everyone is gathering up jewelry, food, clothing, anything we can use to make the trip across the desert to where we can settle down away from slavery, away from this tyranny. When I saw all the hardship and got the immediate support of the Hebrew leaders, I really felt that desert talk with God was true. Even if it was a crazy dream, it got me out of my mid-life lethargy and has given me something I can give my life for. I'm glad you are safe. Oh, my, the ...

1314. Prayer And Bumblebees

2 Corinthians 4:18

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... -- if only I would listen. "God wasn't taking any chances with me either. God sent two bees so I'd be sure to notice. But to get the message, I had to listen with my eyes. "Probably you're wondering what that message was. The bees reminded me that supported by God's love, anything is possible. Even bees can fly! "God speaks to us in many wonderful ways. But we can't hear if we don't listen. And sometimes we need to listen with something other than our ears. Sometimes it's important to listen with our eyes ...

1315. A Tale Of Two Trees

1 Corinthians 13:13

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... soon the first snow came. The evergreen shivered just a little but didn't find winter too terribly cold. It worried though about its bare-branched dogwood friend. "As the snow built up on the branches of the evergreen it began to feel very strong, supporting all that weight. It also felt very beautiful again, looking down at its deep green branches set off by the sparkling white snow. But even that grew tiresome after a while. The evergreen missed its friend the dogwood. "Slowly winter passed. Then one day ...

1316. Only The Messiah

Mark 8:27-30

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... could so love the world. "You know, we still meet Jesus in our world. Whenever we help someone who needs assistance, when we offer food to someone who is hungry, when we visit people who are sick or in some sort of trouble and offer them our love and support, we are bringing the presence of Jesus to them through our action. And whenever we receive such blessing from another, when we are the one who is fed, or visited, or given the help we require, then we meet Jesus in that person, see him in her eyes, feel ...

1317. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... home to Jericho where Dad worked. Living off our savings, we kept our home and his job so that his income could help the Jesus- followers. Things went well for several years that way. As the Church developed and spread, my dad's income supported about two dozen people to be full-time preachers, teachers, and missionaries. Occasionally, one of the emperors or governors would blame Christians for all the world's problems. Things would get rough. People would disappear and not be seen again. Or their bodies ...

1318. Jesus' Ministry Beyond Galilee

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... when we might feel like we, individually, don't need to go to church. The community of people gathered, however, needs us most of all when we are strong.) On the other hand, when our individual faith is weak, we turn to the faith of the community to support us. Such is the nature of life in the community of the faithful. Some comments about the way both communal faith and individual faith are present in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism might also be touched upon at this point in the sermon. 1. David Rhoads and ...

1319. Forgiven and Healed

Mark 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... Psalm 139) Commissioning and Blessing The world is full of people too sick, or too full of sin, to seek out Christ on their own. Brothers and sisters, we are the Church, We are the ones who can help the sinful and the sick. With our faith and our support we can bring them to Christ.In the name of God, let's go to work, and may the blessing of God go with you. Amen. Hymns and Choruses (The asterisk [*] indicates hymns or choruses that are addressed to God and can be used as prayers.) "Amazing Grace" "Chief ...

1320. Epiphany Day

Matthew 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... people to lay their gifts on the altar table. Modern gifts could include: volunteering a year's service to a food pantry or soup kitchen; a revised will that has included a bequest to the church or a mission project; a gift of stoc_esermonsk to support a missionary or a scholarship fund; giving a homemade quilt or old jewelry or other valuables to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to a special church project; volunteering a year of singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, or cleaning the church ...

1321. What Must We Do?

Mark 10:17-31

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... it is true. Responses to the Word Since this text pushes people to reconsider where their hearts are, what their real priorities are, and what kind of treasure they seek, then this might be a good time to challenge the worshipers concerning their financial support of the church's ministries. Invite the worshipers to pray the prayer of confession printed above. Invite the worshipers to surrender any and all things that they have placed before their love for God and their obedience to Christ. Have them pray ...

1322. Only the Birth Pangs

Mark 13:1-31

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... ; and (4) a famine. Ask the church's youth group to construct a cardboard replica of the temple for a visual aid. They can research how it looked in bible dictionaries, and flatten large cardboard boxes for painting a replica. The cardboard will need to be supported by a wood frame, and the whole thing can be placed along one of the side walls in the sanctuary. If they would like, a replica of what remains of the temple (the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem) can be constructed for the opposing wall of the ...

1323. Choosing Your Spirituality

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... about yourself, anyone else or this wonderful planet? How can one appreciate himself or herself if, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, all one hears is “You are totally depraved”? Total depravity, to me, is a hopeless and helpless concept. That ideology supports slavery, child labor and keeps women in the delivery room.4 In my struggle with the Garden of Eden, I see its truth in a different perspective. My departure from Eden is an advance, not a retreat, a step up, not a plunge down. The beasts ...

1324. Mission Ready!

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... military, I was always hearing the word, mission. I had understood mission in a religious context. I learned that mission could have a broader meaning. Life is mission. Business is mission. Career is mission. Mission is a good word. It suggests vision that is supported by good planning. Define your mission clearly. State its purpose briefly. Write the rules for implementing it. That will be your business plan. That makes you mission ready. The Gospel is about mission. St. Mark has a way of zeroing in on the ...

1325. Bread for the Party (Bread of Life I)

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... the starving people around the world. It seems to be an insurmountable problem. Yet we spend billions of dollars on weapons we hope we will never use. It just can’t be a question of ability; it has to be a question of our willingness to support a system that can and will distribute food to the hungry. I saw a television newsclip recently showing a restaurant in a city. One block away were the homeless and hungry. The restaurant throws away substantial amounts of unused food every day. Someone was raising ...

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