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 1967 results

1401. When The Fat Lady Sings

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

That great twentieth century prophet of Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra, said it well when describing the uncertainty of any athletic contest: "It ain't over 'til it's over." Until that last fly ball is caught or strike is called or ground ball is thrown to first base and the last out is made, the game is not over. Anything can happen. And more often than not it has. Everyone has a story about dramatic comebacks in the bottom half of the ninth inning. I suppose that is why Red Auerbach, the former great coach ...

1402. Invest In The Future

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

Cynthia stood before a church group in a neighboring town. She had been invited to share the story of her faith in her successful struggle against death. She stood before the group with a candle in one hand and a pocket lighter in the other. She began, "Three years ago I went to the hospital for a series of tests and I was told that I had malignant cancer. I was also told that, although it was possible for me to take chemotherapy treatments, the chance of them offering any help at all was very slim. My ...

1403. God, The Father

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: It was the beginning of summer and I was chomping at the bit to do some more story sermons. Only I was interested in doing something that explained the Trinity, something that might prove more memorable than other sermons I had tried on the subject. For Father's Day, I tackled the First Person of the Trinity. Matthew 6:1-8 "Jake! Jacob ben Jacob! Is that you?" Samuel's voice was very excited. The peculiar puffy eyelids could only be those of his childhood friend. The man turned and looked at him ...

1404. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

A photocopied sign was posted inside a church office. It was one of those humorous full-page slogans that people in different offices duplicate and pass among themselves. Most of us have seen this particular message, I suppose, but posted in a church office, the words took on a new meaning. There it was, taped to the cinder blocks behind a secretary's desk. The sign read, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." At one level, why not put a sign like that in a church? Many churches are busy ...

1405. Tears

John 11:17-37

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: An onion. Lesson: Crying; self-esteem; love; friendship. "This morning I have brought something all of you will probably recognize. What is it?" I hold up a round object for all to see. "An onion!" the children reply, some of them wrinkling their noses in disgust. "Ah, yes ... an onion." I pause for a moment looking at it with them. "What do you suppose would happen if I were to peel this onion and cut it up?" "Gosh! It would STINK!" exclaims one of the boys. The others nod in agreement. "So you ...

1406. The Servant of All's Second Prediction

Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:33-37

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

The lectionary moves directly from the story on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:1-8) to Jesus' second "passion/resurrection" prediction (9:30-37). In the intervening passages we see the fear and unbelief of the disciples clearly portrayed. Peter, James and John come down from the mountain with Jesus. They have failed to understand what Jesus means by the "rising of the dead" (Mark 9:10). These are precisely the same disciples who were with Jesus when he raised a twelve-year-old girl from death (Mark 5:35- ...

1407. Good Friday

John 19:28-37, Hebrews 10:1-18, Isaiah 52:13--53:12, John 18:1-11, John 19:38-42, John 19:17-27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Healing and eternal life through the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, God's suffering servant and our Savior. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13--53:12 This is the fourth Servant Song. The usual scholarly interpretation identifies the Servant with the nation of Israel. I must straight out confess that I have real problems with this interpretation. First of all, the images are intimately personal. "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief..." (v. 3). A ...

1408. First Sunday In Christmastide

John 15:1-17

Bulletin Aid

David M. Oliver

Introduction to this Service Everyone is to bring an evergreen branch to worship. Extra boughs may be brought by church members and handed out to those who do not have any. The evergreen is a useful symbol for the Christian life. The focus of the message is to consider how we can remain "ever-green" and fruitful as people of faith. During enjoyable holiday periods, most of us are like the fresh-cut evergreen. The sweet aroma of our lives is readily lavished on everyone. After these periods of celebration, ...

1409. Giving Your All

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Erskine White

But she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, her whole living. (Mark 12:44) Jesus could really be rough on certain people, especially those whom He perceived to be falsely religious and self-righteous. Judging by some of the severe language we read in the gospels, you didn't want to be on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing administered by one Jesus of Nazareth. When our Lord spoke to the scribes and Pharisees and to the other religious celebrities of His time, He used words like " ...

1410. The Gospel Of Christmas

John 1:1-18

Sermon

James Garrett

A wife gave her husband two ties for Christmas. He, being an obedient and peace-loving man, went immediately and put on one of the ties. He returned to the kitchen where his wife was preparing breakfast. Seeing he had one of the ties on she asked: “What’s the matter, don’t you like the other tie?” Through the Advent season we read Luke’s story of the coming of the Lord and of his birth. These weeks leading up to today, Christmas, we have made preparations. We have anticipated with great expectancy the ...

1411. The Room Named Heaven

John 14:1-4

Eulogy

W. George Easson

Death of a Down's Syndrome Adult This sermon was used at the funeral of a thirty-seven-year-old afflicted with Down's Syndrome. He never acquired the ability to speak even a few words. He was kept at home and cared for throughout his life by his parents. He died after only a very short illness. What is it that gives value to life? In the eyes of the world it is intelligence and the ability to produce. Great importance is placed upon the Einsteins, the Salks, the Menningers, the Shakespeares and the ...

1412. The Bottom Line

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Robert Beringer

One of the most common phrases heard in the marketplace today is "the bottom line." It makes no difference if you are buying a car, or a new house, a new wardrobe or planning a vacation. Whatever it is, we want to know how much will it cost. What's the bottom line? There is a story going the rounds about a self-employed painter who had come on hard times. There was very little work in his area, so when he was asked to bid on the painting of a local church, he figured a little too closely to the bottom line ...

1413. Fingerprints on the Chalice

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Steven Burt

A while ago, while at a three-day pastor’s retreat, I overheard two young pastors discussing what happens at Communion. One wanted to discuss transubstantiation and consubstantiation -- that is, what actually happens to the bread and wine when the priest or minister pronounces that they are the body and blood of Christ. The second wanted to theorize about the effect the elements had on the worshippers when they took in the body and blood (or the bread and juice, if it wasn’t actually transubstantiated.) I ...

1414. Innocent of the Blood of Jesus

Matthew 27:1-10

Drama

Joe Barone

As we continue our walk with Jesus to the cross, it might be well to consider where we've been. It all started when Mary anointed Jesus with an expensive flask of oil. From there Jesus went to the last supper where he acknowledged that Judas would betray him. We were at Gethsemane with the apostle James, and we watched Jesus stand before the Sanhedrin through the eyes of the high priest Caiaphas. Today, we look through the eyes of Pontius Pilate. Dramatic Monologue: Pontius Pilate He was no threat to the ...

1415. Christ's Passion Portraits

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Paul Hegele

The task before us that afternoon was simple enough. The newly remodeled church lounge had a wall which needed a picture; everyone agreed it should be a portrait of Christ. The question was - what should Jesus look like? Five hundred years before Christ's birth, Isaiah had predicted he would have "no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." Except for the unnerving remark, the Bible never mentions Jesus' appearance. So, which of the scores of paintings ...

1416. Jesus Replaced Someone At Calvary

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a man called a church by mistake. The church receptionist happened to be distracted at the time, and did not answer the phone in the usual fashion. She just said "Hello." The man said, "I want to order one pound of Barbecue, two pints of cole slaw and a dozen hush puppies." The receptionist said, "Wait a minute, sir. We are not a food service operation. You must have the wrong number." The man hesitated a moment and then asked, "What do you sell? What business are you in?" That IS a fair question ...

1417. Solomon and the Outline for Renewal

2 Chronicles 7:11-22

Sermon

Don Yocom

This text in Scripture is the one on which the hand of President Dwight D. Eisenhower rested when he was inaugurated as President of the United States of America. It is such a striking passage of the Bible, it deserves our consideration for renewal needed in our day also. The background story involves the time of the dedication of Solomon’s temple. Solomon had prayed all night to God in an act of personal dedication; and as the highest representative of the nation, his prayer was also an act of national ...

1418. The Centurion - Arranging Death, Announcing Life

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

Was I there, did you ask? Yes, I was there all right. I had to be. I was the man in charge of the soldiers who crucified Jesus of Nazareth. It was a day I’ll never forget, the day when the sun refused to shine. You won’t find my name in the Bible, but if you study any of the traditions associated with the death of Jesus, you may learn that I was called Longinus. But my name is not important. What you should know is that I carried out the arrangements for the crucifixion. As I did my job and watched what ...

1419. When Things Don’t Work Out, What Then?

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Edward Chinn

When things don’t work out, what then? An old man looked back over his life and said, "I have had a great many disappointments, but the greatest of them is the disappointment I had as a boy. When I was a boy, I crawled under a tent to see a circus and discovered that I was in a revival meeting!" There are many instances in our life of this matter of disappointment. A bride and groom walk out of a church after a beautiful wedding ceremony with great dreams and high hopes of their future life together, but ...

1420. Twenty-First Century Reformation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (v. 36) On October 31, 1517, the eve of All-Saints’ Day, at high noon, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. (We acknowledge that some scholars consider the story to be a pious legend.) It is easy to over-dramatize the event, but one cannot be unmindful of those hammer blows which echoed around the world. The Reformation had begun! Precisely, what was Luther doing? Existentially, he was listing 95 reasons ...

1421. Praying for a Whole New World

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

William G. Carter

The door slammed. There was a rush upstairs. The man looked at the clock; it was time for his daughter to be home from school. Fourth grade was not going very well, and from the sound of the slam of the door, it had not improved. He went up to her room and asked about her day. “It was awful,” she said, and then she filled in the details. When she unzipped her backpack at school, her homework was nowhere to be found. Her normally charming teacher snarled at the class. The morning dragged on to lunch, when ...

1422. The Spirit Has Landed

Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

On January 3, 2004, the Mars rover named “Spirit” began its diligent exploration. It began sending back so many photographs that NASA figured out a way to teach the little rover how to detect changes in images, so that it sent only images back to Earth with new information. For example, if Rover was taking photographs of dust devils, it would pause and waits until the image changed before taking the next photo. That meant less work for the scientists sifting through the many, many amazing photographs ' ...

1423. A Theology of Work - Labor Day

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Labor Day Weekend. Our unique American end-of-summer holiday that celebrates work by not working. Wonderful! Most of the world observes May 1st as Labor Day, but not us. The September date was chosen way back when because it was halfway between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. September 5, 1882 saw the first American Labor Day parade. It was held in New York City with 20,000 participants carrying banners calling for 8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for recreation. Samuel Gompers, the founder ...

1424. The Christ of the Commonplace

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Familiar story. Two travelers. Friends? Brothers? Husband and wife? We have no idea. Just Cleopas and whomever. Perhaps the reason one remains unidentified is to allow us to insert our own name into the story. Cleopas and David (or Cleopas and Debbie...or Connie or Jim or Jane or Bob or John), out on the road, home to Emmaus. This idea of inserting our own name into the story makes sense. They were just like us. They had the same concerns that have been common in every age - keeping body and soul together ...

1425. Finding Glory

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you may remember a program years ago on television called "Topper." It was one of the better comedies in the early days of television. Jim Burns, in his book, RADICALLY COMMITTED, tells about one of the zanier episodes in this series. Mrs. Topper wanted to train her husband to be nicer to her. She found a book titled HOW TO TRAIN PUPPIES and followed it exactly by substituting her husband~s name for the puppy. So any time her husband Topper would do something nice for her, she would praise him and ...

Showing results