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 1451 to 1475 of 4914 results

1451. Why Doesn’t God Prove Himself To Doubters?

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

Charley Reeb

If you’ve ever doubted God’s existence or know someone who has, this message is for you. If you are afraid to express your struggles with faith, this message is for you. The truth is, 99% of us are in one of those categories, and 1% is lying. So this message is for everyone! I have gone through seasons of doubt. It’s called being human. It is normal. I wouldn’t be much of preacher if I didn’t struggle with doubt. I wouldn’t have much to offer. I believe with Frederick Buechner that “doubts are the ants in ...

1452. Jesus the Healer

Luke 6:19

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A heating pad. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever used a heating pad? (Let them answer.) When do you like to use it the most? (Let them answer.) Those are all good times, but I suppose that the best time for all of us to use the heating pad is when we do not feel too well. If we have an earache or a backache, or any kind of an ache, it is always good to use the heating pad. There is that nice warm feeling that seems to make us feel better. I want you to feel my heating pad and ...

1453. Fish Miracle

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-13, Luke 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we ...

1454. What Christmas Is About

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Charlie Brown isn't the only one who asks, "What's Christmas all about?" Real people also ask that same question. Several years ago there was an exchange student from Indonesia, spending his first December in America. The crowds of shoppers in the stores, the Santa Clauses, the bright lights, the trees, the manger scenes, the parties, and the growing sense of excitement and revelry - it was all more than a little confusing to him. Then one night as he satwatching television with his host family, the ...

1455. God is About to Strike

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

A brilliant light flashes. It strikes like lightning. Paul is shocked by a charge from heaven, and he is knocked from his horse. A voice vibrates about Paul which holds his attention in a vice-like grip. Paul is converted. The persecutor becomes the preacher. The surprising element of this event is the realization that the conversion of Paul was the conversion of a radically religious person. Paul was the best of believers. Paul was a master of morality. He lived out every letter of the law. He was a ...

1456. A Glory Revealed in Liberty

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’!" They answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes ...

1457. A Glory Revealed in the King

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Charles M. Mountain

Jesus is the King. This affirmation is really the united testimony of the entire New Testament, culminating in Revelation 17 and 19 where Jesus is called the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Several times in the Gospel of John, Jesus is worshiped or honored as King. Nathanael responded to Jesus, "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"1 At another point, people wanted to physically seize him and make him their king by force!2 Jesus resisted their plebiscite at that time, but on the first ...

1458. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

There are many things about your life which I do not know. But one thing I do know: you are living in an interim. And so am I. We are in time-in-between; we are between what has happened and what will happen. We know a great deal about the former and very little about the latter. What has been is past, and we are moving away from it, going on to what is to be. How we make this journey is very important, the attitudes with which we travel, the guiding stars we follow. So I want to speak with you about The ...

1459. Your Image of Tomorrow

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Mann

"Among those who are born of women ..." If you are thinking of the human race, this is a rather inclusive statement; I can’t think of very many people it leaves out! And this is a statement of Jesus as he offers a summa cum laude of highest praise to one of his associates in the dissemination of truth and light. He says, "Among those who are born of women, there has not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptizer" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). What was it that was so great about John - this son of ...

1460. Why Prophets Get Under Our Skin

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

To tell you the truth, you might not like him if you met him. Chances are you would not invite him for cocktails at the club or for dinner at home with some of your prestigious friends. The likelihood is your children would think him curious and your teenagers would scorn him as not worth an autograph. The tabloids might attempt to puff him up as an oddity or curiosity piece for the sake of profit. But the respectable newspapers might think the news he had was not fit to print. I speak, of course, of John ...

1461. Meeting And Mastering Temptation

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A man went to his counselor about a personal problem. He said to the counselor, "I have a real struggle here. I feel like I'm violating my conscience. I'm not being completely honest with myself. I'm living a broken life." The counselor said to him, "Well, would you like to see me about strengthening your will power?" The man thought for a moment and replied, "No, what I would like to talk to you about is weakening my conscience." That reflects our age, doesn't it? We are not so much interested in ...

1462. Will The Real God Please Stand?

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1463. The Sword of the Lord

Hebrews 4:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to listen to this description of a book and see if you can guess which book is described: This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's ...

1464. Blessed Are Those Who Hand Over Their Controllers

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The hundred miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people” seeking freedom and family in the US have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has ...

1465. No Longer Strangers

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Chapter Two of Ephesians is one of Paul’s clearest statements about the Cross as God’s power for redemption. In this chapter, Paul used the most dramatic image he could have used to describe the estrangement of the Gentiles, and the reconciling power of the Cross. His image was the Temple in Jerusalem. The layout of the temple painfully marked the separation of the Gentiles. Inside the temple walls were a series of courts. The innermost court was the hallowed “holy of Holies” into which the High Priest ...

1466. The Vision of God

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

Chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians begins a sharp divide with the nine chapters that have preceded it, a break that continues through the rest of the letter. The first nine chapters revealed a significant struggle between Paul and the Corinthians, but it seems in those chapters that Paul felt that they were making progress. As we saw in the previous lectionary passage, Paul felt confident enough in chapter 8 to urge the Corinthians to finish taking up the offering for the church in Jerusalem. From chapter 10 on, ...

1467. Mugwumpers

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

In certain streams of Christianity, it is common to speak of people being "born again." The phrase comes from an exchange between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus in the third chapter of John. In that exchange, Jesus contrasts being born of the flesh with being born of the Spirit. To be born of the flesh is to be shaped by the genes of your parents and their background. You come into this world with a heritage as a given. Because you live according to the demands of the flesh, you also possess the ...

1468. Faithful Witnesses Who Proclaim God’s Word

Revelation 11:1-14

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: God calls his people to faithful witness, leading to hostility from the world but ultimately resulting in vindication by God. Understanding the Text The interlude of 10:1–11:13 speaks to the situation of God’s people in this world. The first part of the interlude features the recommissioning of John to continue his prophetic ministry (10:1–11), a ministry that extends to the entire church in the second vision of the interlude: the two witnesses (11:1–13).1This second vision has two parts: 11:1–2 ...

1469. Revised and Revisioned

John 8:48-59, John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41, John 10:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Siri (phone or ipad) [Hold up the phone.] This….is Siri. Anyone have one of these? Talk to her, and she answers you! [Demonstrate in any way you wish.] Siri….what is the capital of Nevada? …….Siri….what will the weather be like tomorrow? But ask her this…. Siri….do you love me? What happens? She’s giving you a song! [A youtube appears! Siri doesn’t understand the question, because Siri is missing that human element of emotion.] Siri doesn’t understand the question. Siri is the creation of our minds ...

1470. Here Be Dragons

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We all know how the stories of Knights and Dragons go –the Knight rescues the beautiful maiden from the jaws of the fire-breathing dragon, and all is well! Even the age-old tales of St. Brendan and St. George have feasts set and conversions accomplished by the slaying of these terrifying beasts. And yet, the scriptures give us a mysteriously mixed review of dragons. Yes, dragons. In the scriptures too, there be dragons! In the scriptures, we refer to them most often as “seraphim” –those strange winged ...

1471. Rock of Salvation

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4 Wombats are little burrowing creatures popular to New South Wales in Australia. Something like a ground hog, wombats are unusual in that they can instinctively find water beneath the ground. They seem to know just where to burrow. A researcher at Western Sydney University says that wombats are like “water diviners.” They just seem to sense the presence of water.[1] That makes them very popular critters ...

1472. One More Thing

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Robert Allen

When I was a kid growing up, I don't think I ever went anywhere without my mother saying, "Robert, there is one more thing I want to tell you." It didn't make any difference where I was going. I could have been going to camp, I could have been going to spend the night with a friend or I could have been going to a party. I don't care what it was, before I got out of the car, my mother would say, "There's one more thing I want to tell you." It was never really one more thing -- but several things. And they ...

1473. Proper 24

Exodus 33:12-23, Matthew 22:15-22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Psalm 99:1-9

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 33:12-23 is an extended petition of Moses for God to accompany Israel on their wilderness travels. Psalm 99 is a song of praise that celebrates the power of God. Exodus 33:12-23 - "The Power of Petition: Part 2" Setting. See the commentary from last week for an overview of the three-part structure of Exodus 19-34, which is (1) revelation and covenant Exodus 19-31), (2) the breaking of covenant and threat of destruction Exodus 32 -33), and (3) covenant renewal (Exodus 34). The ...

1474. Faith’s First Impressions

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

You only get one chance to make a first impression. First impressions form lasting images. The first words and first actions we present to another person resound and resonate throughout the duration of that relationship. It is not that we are intentionally standoffish and skittish when presented with a new face. It is more about the unconscious gurgling up of the instinctual “fight-flight-freeze-fawn” response all of us possess. Whether we experience a “first impression” as engaging or annoying, easy-going ...

1475. Ephesians 1:11-23

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Ephesians is one of the most optimistic communications in the Bible. Whether or not authentically Paul's work, the fact remains that the distinctively Pauline nature of faith is presented here with a distinctively celebratory note. This week's epistle reading introduces one of the central tenets of this entire section - that of the special "inheritance" available to us through Christ. Verse 11 declares that this inheritance is experienced once believers accept the fact of their destiny, their calling. In ...

Showing results