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 1401 to 1425 of 4943 results

1401. When to Take the Shirt off Your Back

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most gruesome, hopeless places in early nineteenth century England was “debtor’s prison.” Charles Dickens described it, but thousands of England’s poor lived it first-hand. Everything the debtor owned was confiscated. Nothing was left. If any debts still remained, debtors were imprisoned until the balance owed could be paid. Which, of course, could never be, because the debtor was locked up. It was a situation without hope. That was “civilized” nineteenth century England. But according to ...

1402. Never Give Up On God

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

James Merritt

A little five-year-old girl was watching her mother in fascination as she was rubbing cold cream on her face. She said, "Mother, why do you do that?" The mother replied, "To make myself beautiful." Well, to the little girl's amazement, in just a minute the mother began removing the cream with a tissue she had just put on. The girl said, "What's the matter, giving up already?" I sometimes believe that God looks at our puny prayer lives and asks the question: "Are you giving up already?" Believe it or not, ...

1403. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

I am wondering right now how many frustrated people are in this building, or maybe watching by television, whose memories hearken back to parents that you could never totally please. Most every one of us in this room knows someone that is driven to succeed to the nth degree, because they are haunted by the ghost of unrealistic expectations that one or both parents placed on them. There are others in this room who live in perpetual sadness because of a parent that never showed them the affection and the ...

1404. Picture Perfect Close Up: Children - Get Under The Umbrella

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

We are concluding a series that we've entitled, "Picture Perfect". It is a series on the family. We have said for the last several weeks, "God desires for the family to show His love for His glory." We have seen how God has given each family member a specific role to play and a specific responsibility to fulfill. Husbands - Love As they relate to their wives, husbands are to always ask this question, "What is the loving thing to do?" Wives - Submit The question wives are to ask as they relate to their ...

1405. You CAN Take It With You

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

This sermon is dominated by one image - scars. Rather than the cumulative force of many images, here is the cumulative force of one - scars - skillfully worked. When done effectively, as it is here, the listeners do not anticipate what is coming and therefore dare not abandon listening. The presence of scars means there have been wounds. More importantly, it means there has been healing. Read and see how the preacher does it for his parish and for readers/listeners. The old saying, "You can’t take it with ...

1406. They Grow Up Fast

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I selected this lovely hymn this morning, "Once in Royal David's City," because of its reference to the childhood of Jesus. It is one of the few places where you will find any reference to the fact that he grew up the way we have to. The third verse reads, "Jesus is our childhood's pattern; day by day, like us he grew." The hymn was part of a fascinating project, one of a series of hymns written by Cecil Alexander, back in 1848, to teach children the meaning of the Apostles' Creed. "Once in Royal David's ...

1407. Taking the Long View

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

So much seems to press upon us in our daily living that "taking the long view" may not only be remote but considered impractical and therefore shelved. A thousand years equals one day and one day equals 1,000 years. It all sounds so mystical and unscientific! Do you mean we have to rethink being captains of our own ships? That is so basic to the American way and you are suggesting we give it up? After all, we can accomplish anything we set out to do — that is if we just try hard enough. Planning is done ...

1408. Connected To God

Sermon

Lee Griess

In his book On a Wild and Windy Mountain, Dean of the Chapel at Duke University William Willimon tells of being in New Haven, Connecticut, as a student in 1970, during the famous Black Panther trial. Perhaps you remember those days the 1970s? It was a turbulent time for our country a time of strife, discord, and agony that threatened to tear our country apart. Much of the unrest of those days came to a focus during the trial of those Black Panther leaders. It was just at that time that Willimon happened to ...

1409. On Not Giving Up

Galatians 6: 7-16

Sermon

April Yamasaki

A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future. "How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked. The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to get out there and fail, and learn from your failures." What advice would you give to someone who is discouraged ...

1410. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

For some it is ancient history. For others it is as fresh as yesterday. I speak of 1972 when the word "cover-up" came into our consciousness in a big way -- the cover-up by then President Richard Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Assured of a landslide victory in his election for a second term, Richard Nixon, overborne with anxiety, apparently felt that was not enough. So he authorized the so-called "Watergate Plumbers," headed by G. Gordon Liddy, to break into the Democratic Headquarters in the posh ...

1411. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. — John 16:13 For some it is ancient history. But for others it is as fresh as yesterday. I speak of 1972 when the word "cover-up" came into our consciousness in a big way — the cover-up by then-President Richard Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Assured of a landslide victory in his election for a second term, Richard Nixon, overborne with anxiety, apparently felt that was not enough. So he authorized the so-called "Watergate ...

1412. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: When our theological foundations are threatened, our fears are disabled by remembering God’s just and majestic character. Understanding the Text Psalm 11 is an individual lament. The lament is quite brief (11:1b) and obviously grows out of the immediate threat of danger that David faced (11:2), which itself grows out of the nature of the wicked “who love violence” (11:5). It is that bigger problem that shakes the foundations of faith and life (11:3), until Yahweh’s vision from his heavenly throne ...

1413. What If He Shows Up?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I know that you remember Murphy's Law, which said, "If anything can go wrong, it will." There are a thousand variations of that law, such as, "Buttered toast, when falling to the floor, will always fall face down." But it seems that one day in this particular house the toast fell to the floor, and to the amazement of the family, it landed buttered side up. Immediately the scientists were called in to analyze this. Did this really refute Murphy's Law, which said that "buttered toast, when it falls to the ...

1414. Using our Special Talents

Romans 12:6-8

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Cup, scissors, picture. Good morning, boys and girls. How are you on this beautiful winter morning? Winter must be a very special season for God, because He decorates His earth with snow and beautiful cloud formations in the heavens. It is wonderful how the various seasons do different things and make us feel differently. It makes me think of some good friends around my house that have special jobs. Let me show you what I mean. First of all there is my friend, Charley Cup. [Hold up cup, admiring it ...

1415. Fill'er up Lord

Ephesians 5:18-21

Sermon

James Merritt

I know that it is rude and impolite, generally speaking, to ask personal questions. I mean there are just certain questions that people should know better than to ask. For example: You should never go up to a woman and ask, "How much do you weigh?" Likewise, you should never go up to a woman and ask, "How old are you?" You should never go up to anyone and ask a question such as, "Is that a wig?" or, "Do you color your hair?" You should never ask anyone, "Did your plastic surgery not work out, or do you ...

1416. "Sneak Up On ‘Em!"

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as ...

1417. Take Time To Say Thanks

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

It always makes us feel good when people take their time to express appreciation. The late, great cowboy film star and all-round good guy Roy Rogers never forgot the people who made him what he was. According to Zig Ziglar in his book, Something to Smile About, after Roy starred in his first movie, he began receiving huge stacks of fan mail that he wanted to answer. However, his salary of $150 a week did not even cover the required postage. He talked to the head of Republic Pictures in the hope that the ...

1418. Sabotaging The Sabath

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Richard Patt

We wish the story here would have ended another way. Yes, it was the sabbath (always meant to be a beautiful day for God's people!). And even on the sabbath people become sick or continue to be sick. Jesus notices a woman, all hunched over, obviously one who had been ill for a long time. He is a merciful Lord, so he takes the initiative to call her over and lay his hands on her. In these gracious acts, the woman is healed on the spot. Her body is straightened again, and she praises God for God's goodness. ...

1419. Heads Down, Thumbs Up

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The old adage, "Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you," can be translated into body language: Heads Down, Thumbs Up. On Palm Sunday, Jesus gave a thumbs up to the bowed down. Christians commemorate the strangest things. We make a big deal over the fact that Jesus was born in a cave or stable full of smelly animals, into a family of dirt-poor Jews. We tell all sorts of stories about Jesus' closest followers, his most devoted disciples focusing on their being ignorant ...

1420. Anger - Eleven Ways To Blow Up, Seven Ways To Cool Off

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

What is your AQ? Not your IQ, which is your so-called intelligence quotient, but your AQ, your Anger Quota? Everyone has an AQ. Everyone has a point, a threshold, whatever you call it. If the right buttons are hit, you will get angry and start to growl, and that's your AQ, your Anger Quota. Of course, you and the people sitting around you don't look like you could be angry. As far as you and I can tell, everyone here looks calm, relaxed, quiet, and composed. But under that cool composure there's the ...

1421. Starting Over

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Sometimes the healing of our hurts starts only when we find another song to sing. Take the story of Helen, for instance. She had her sights set on a law degree from Ohio Wesleyan College. But then the flu epidemic of 1918 hit, taking her father as a victim. Suddenly everything had changed. Helen could not go to college; she had to get a job to support her mother. For the next ten years, Helen worked at an electrical utility; a simple, repetitive cog in the company machine. Just when she thought she was ...

1422. What It Takes to Stay Christian

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Eleven months ago when I first arrived in Versailles as your new pastor, it was my custom to arise at 5:30 A.M. every morning and run four or five miles before breakfast. I weighed 147 pounds, and for a man of my age, I was in good condition. I was five pounds under my ideal weight, I felt fresh and trim, had a great deal of energy, and slept like a newborn baby. My muscles were firm and tough, I was in excellent health and knew it. As the months passed, changes have taken place. Partly because of my ...

1423. Facing Up To Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas Long

Searching the aisles of the hardware store the other day for a tube of "Super Glue," I couldn't find it, so I went up to the customer service desk to ask for help from the young man standing at the cash register. He was on the telephone and, when he saw me coming his direction, he turned his back toward me. I could tell he was making a personal call, but I just waited. The call went on and on ... "So did you like the movie ... really? ... Oh you're kidding! ... What did Susan say? ..." Finally I cleared my ...

1424. Sit Up and Speak!

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

The telephone rang in my office one day, and a mother, a member of my parish, blurted out, "Oh, pastor, they just found the body of my son, Kenneth. He drowned in the Missouri River over at Chamberlain!" I was stunned, and then I heard her sob. "It had been a hot day. Kenneth, driving gravel truck all day, decided to take a swim to cool off. And he didn't make it back to shore. Pastor, what'll I do?" I remember swimming at that very beach with my family over the years. As I drove over to Erna's house, I ...

1425. Scandal

Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

While Don Richardson was a student at Prairie Bible Institute in the 1950s, his heart burned in anticipation of bringing the good news about Jesus to an unreached tribe. He and Carol found their prayers answered in 1962 as they sailed out of Vancouver harbor toward Netherlands New Guinea. Before long, they were deposited by a missionary plane among the Sawi people, a group of tribes living in the trees of the interior rain forest. The jungle floor was too damp for permanent dwellings, so the Sawi helped ...

Showing results