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 1326 to 1350 of 4943 results

The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all of your time.

Willem de Kooning

Love always involves responsibility, and love always involves sacrifice. And we do not really love Christ unless we are prepared to face His task and to take up His Cross.

William Barclay

In war, as in life, it is often necessary, when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.

Winston Churchill

1329. Missing The Paint Point

Humor

Not long ago a corporate executive came into a doctor's office for a checkup. He showed signs of overwork and stress. He was warned to slow down, to take up a hobby perhaps painting to relax. He readily agreed and left the office. The next day the executive phoned and announced enthusiastically, "Doc, this painting is wonderful. I've already done ten."

1330. Praying the Lectionary: Lent 2

Mark 8:31-38 · Romans 4:13-25 · Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 · Psalm 22:23-31

Bulletin Aid

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

... of self-denial and cross-bearing servanthood. In the face of persecution and growing hostility toward you and your church, empower and strengthen us in our faith and integrity toward you and your gospel. We ask for faith, courage and strength to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow you. God of mercy: C: Hear our prayer. (Additional prayers may be offered here, ending with: God of mercy: C: Hear our prayer.) P: Great physician: We pray for all among us who suffer from illnesses of the mind, body ...

1331. It's OK To Stir Up God

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Richard Patt

Sometimes you and I have to stoke up enough nerve to ask someone for a favor. We find it tough to ask for something -- for anything. I'm not thinking about asking someone for a large sum of money either. It can be as simple as asking for a ride when our own car is temporarily out of commission, or asking someone at a dinner table to pass us the potatoes. We are inclined to hesitate when it comes to asking favors of others, even small ones. This is probably the case for at least two reasons. First, we tend ...

1332. Taking The Risk Out Of Dy(e)ing

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Lee Griess

Not long ago a newspaper carried an unusual headline. It read, "Test Takes Risk Out of Dyeing." Now, obviously, it was talking about dyeing hair. An expert was being quoted as saying that before dyeing your hair, you should test one strand to see how it works. Now that seems to make good sense to me. But it was the headline which attracted my attention: "Test Takes Risk Out of Dyeing." Another recent news article intrigued me even more. It was a report that archaeologists in the Holy Land had uncovered the ...

1333. Cut Down And Lifted Up

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Lee Griess

Let me tell you an ancient parable from the Orient. Once upon a time in the heart of a certain kingdom, there lay a beautiful garden. And of all the dwellers in that garden, the most beautiful and beloved to the master of the garden was the noble Bamboo. Year after year, Bamboo grew yet more beautiful and lovely. Bamboo was conscious of the master's love, and yet he was still modest and in all things gentle. Often the Wind would come and play a tune in the garden and Bamboo would cast aside his dignity and ...

1334. All Stirred Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Richard Patt

All stirred up -- that's the way you sometimes feel. Agitated, nervous, worked up, wound up -- for whatever reason. One feature in the story before us is that Jesus appeared to be responsible for bringing one of his dearest friends to such a point of agitation. If you read the Bible carefully, you shouldn't be completely surprised about this. Jesus often left people stirred up. The religious leaders were frequently angered by his words and actions. His miracles left onlookers stirred to the point of awe ...

1335. Time's Up

Matthew 24:36-51

Illustration

John Jamison

If it kept up like this he wasn't going to get anything done all morning. After the telephone calls, that paper-jam in the copier, and now this, he was beginning to feel that it was pointless to try. She stepped into his office, "Sorry to interrupt you Reverend, I know you are busy, but I need to talk to you!" She went on to tell him about a problem a dear friend of hers was having, and how it would be really "nice" if the pastor could stop by for a visit sometime. Soon. He wanted to say that if people ...

1336. Up And Down The Mountain

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Gracious and eternal Father, as we begin this Lenten journey, we seek to focus our hearts and minds upon understanding the ways in which you work to heal us of our afflictions. Lord grant us wisdom in these moments. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Sir Edmund Hillary is the explorer and humanitarian from New Zealand who was the first man to stand atop Mount Everest, the highest mountain on ...

1337. Whatever It Takes

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sermon

James Merritt

A tourist was vacationing on the Island of Malta, a Mediterranean island which is hot every day of the year, and very sunny. He was appalled by the chaotic traffic; cars and buses were darting every which way with no apparent order whatsoever. The tourist asked a policeman why the traffic was so disorderly, and the policeman said, "Well, in some countries they drive on the right side of the road; in other countries they drive on the left side of the road; here we drive in the shade. This world is full of ...

1338. Give It Up

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes it seems like there are only two types of films being made today in Hollywood. There are “chick flicks” and there are “man movies.” Coming off Valentine’s date weekend, the cinema hormone level is heavy with estrogen. But don’t worry, gentlemen. With the approach of “March Madness” and the full court press of basketball, the testosterone level will climb steadily over the next month. These movie “types” are actually less about male vs. female, Mars vs. Venus than they are about the different ways ...

1339. It’s a New Year: Take 7 Steps Forward

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many parents have blessed the invention of the “Swing’N’Sway?” Can I get a witness?! There are actually two versions of this battery operated baby care gizmo. For newborns there is a Swing’N’Sway bassinet that gently rocks from side-to-side and back-to-front to simulate the infant being held and walked and rocked. This enables new Moms and Dads to catch some desperately needed shut-eye. For babies old enough to sit up there is a Swing’N’Sway rocker — an infant seat secured in a kind of swing-set stand ...

1340. God Never Gives Up on Us

1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20, (11:14-15)

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Have you noticed that no matter how much of a mess we make of our lives, God never gives up on us? We try to do the right thing, but fail over and over again. Paul talks openly about the fact that he knows the right thing to do, but just keeps doing the wrong thing. He can't seem to help himself. I guess it all started with the first Adam who got to work early one morning and parked on the line between two parking places so that everyone who came after him has parked on the line ever since. What a mess we ...

1341. Up Close & Personal: Coming Into Focus

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

This is what most of us know as an “eye chart.” The actual name for this piece of paper is a Snellen Chart, and it is used to test your vision. More specifically, it is used to test how well your eyes can focus. At a distance of 20 feet, if you can read the red line on this chart, then you have 20/20 vision. Now, if all you can read is one of the larger letters, then this tells the eye doctor that your vision is out of focus. [Pastor’s Note: A PowerPoint slide of a Snellen Eye Chart is included in your ...

1342. Taking You Up with Him

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

"If I go down, I'm taking you down with me." We've all heard that line. It's been used in movies and on television shows. We've seen it written in books and even in real-life news articles. Maybe we've even had it said directly to us. Somebody is in big trouble, and they are not going to face the punishment without involving someone else in their suffering. Sometimes there's even a line that follows: "That's not just a threat; it's a promise," just to let us know that they are not bluffing. If they are ...

1343. Up Close & Personal: Open the Doors

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

What I am about to say to you I want to upfront make sure that I am not misunderstood. I am not a name dropper and I don’t like name droppers. During the course of my life I’ve gotten to meet many people, some of whom I consider famous, from the standpoint that they are well-known. But like most of you, I have a few people that I have always wanted to meet, or hope to one day meet. Not because I am star-struck or want to take a selfie with a celebrity to post on the Internet. No, I want to meet certain ...

1344. It Takes Two to Preach!

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost VIII That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil but when the sun rose ...

1345. Just Showing Up Doesn't Get the Job Done

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Eight words that can change your life. Cowboy culture is still dominated by the larger-than-life image projected by the greatest cowboy-actor of them all, John Wayne. The rough-and-tumble, heart-of-gold, good-guy character John Wayne perfected on-screen never failed to embody the qualities of honor, loyalty, bravery and commitment. John Wayne's cowboys didn't just look good. They were good. In the classic, "Rio Bravo," Wayne's character summed up the essence of his cowboy philosophy by declaring to a less- ...

1346. Take On Something for Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

An increasing number of responsible pet owners have now “micro-chipped” their dogs and cats. A small “chip” is injected under the skin and when a special scanner is run over the chip, the creature’s whole history is made available—-pet’s name, owner’s name, home address, home phone, vet’s name, vet’s phone, medications taken. It’s all there. Most animal shelters now have these scanners. When a lost or wandering animal is brought in, “scanning” is the first procedure. Often the “lost” is “found,” ...

1347. Up Close & Personal: Drawing Near

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

James Merritt

There is no substitute for 20/20 vision whether it is corrected or uncorrected. Everybody wants to be able to see everything. That is true, not just in the physical world, but that is true in the spiritual world. There is nothing like getting “up close and personal” with God and seeing Him in HD and hearing Him in surround-sound. We are in a series we are calling “Up Close & Personal,” because that is the kind of relationship we can have with God. God sent His son to remove every barrier, tear down every ...

1348. The Messed Up

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

In 2006, Alitalia Airlines, the official airline of Italy, made a slight mistake on its website regarding international airfare from Toronto, Canada, to the island of Cyprus. They advertised business-class seats for $39. It was supposed to be $3900, but somebody left two zeros. Two thousand tickets were immediately snapped up and it cost the airline $7.7 million. Somebody messed up. In 1990, 75 million phone calls across the United States went unanswered after a single switch at one of AT&T’s Switching ...

1349. Stirring Things Up

Mark 13:1-8, Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The Union Tribune carried a series of articles this last week on the variety of religions that are emerging as we approach the millennium. We used to talk about religion in America as Protestant, Catholic and Jew. Now there are more Muslims in America than there are Episcopalians, and soon there will be more than there are Jews. Now with the largest in-migration to this country from Asia, there will soon be a lot of Buddhists to add to the mix in America. So while at the beginning of the 20th century you ...

1350. Up Close & Personal: Seeing Clearly

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

I am not much of a game show fan, but my all-time favorite is Jeopardy. If I ever became a teacher or a professor, Jeopardy would be the model that I would use to teach students. It makes learning fun. It is educational, challenging and makes you think. So, we are going to play the game, but we are going to skip all the way to final Jeopardy. The category is “Smarter Than A 5th Grader.” Remember – you have to put your answer in the form of a question. The answer is “By consensus the most brilliant person ...

Showing results

Showing 1326 to 1350 of 4943 results

The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all of your time.

Willem de Kooning

Love always involves responsibility, and love always involves sacrifice. And we do not really love Christ unless we are prepared to face His task and to take up His Cross.

William Barclay

In war, as in life, it is often necessary, when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.

Winston Churchill

1329. Missing The Paint Point

Humor

1330. Praying the Lectionary: Lent 2

Mark 8:31-38 · Romans 4:13-25 · Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 · Psalm 22:23-31

Bulletin Aid

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

1331. It's OK To Stir Up God

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Richard Patt

1332. Taking The Risk Out Of Dy(e)ing