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 1501 to 1525 of 4938 results

1501. Faith Opens the Door

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... . Karl Barth puts it more shockingly, "From a man’s point of view, in his decisive act of faith is the collapse of every effort of his own capacity and will, and the recognition of the absolute necessity of that collapse." We cannot have the new until we give up the old. The old falseness cancels out the new as long as we hold on to it. Faith is a radical commitment to the new truth that we see in Christ, and it transforms everything about our thought and lifestyle. Abraham was moved by his faith, by his ...

1502. The Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor. The prince came up with another solution. He would give up his robes, move into the village, entering not with a crown but in the garb of a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him for who he was and loved him because ...

1503. The Richest Hill On Earth

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

... and sent him to bed early. As he was saying his prayers, he prayed, "Dear God, please love me even when I am bad." This is not only our prayer, but it is our hope. People may say they are through with us, our friends may reject us, society may give up on us, but the God we see revealed in the Cross of Calvary will do none of these things, because he loves us. We may not deserve his love, but he continues to love us. I was reading a story recently about the great Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant. Alabama ...

1504. The Remote

John 14:5-14

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... been done or would be done because then he would know how to tell what was true and what was a lie. FLY: Sounds real good. Go on. SUSAN: And this person ... oh, what's the use. I could never find a person like that. FLY: Don't give up. You were just on the verge of something. SUSAN: I was? FLY: Sure. Now, let's think. Who could know everything and be loving and unselfish? SUSAN: Well, it sounds like a fantasy -- magic. FLY: A special person, right? SUSAN: Very special -- a perfect person. FLY: Who would ...

1505. CLEANING IT ALL OUT

Drama

Angela Akers

... year, didn''t we?" Wife: "Yes, just like we do every year." Husband: "Do you have any special intentions for this new year?" Wife: "What? Do you mean like New Year''s resolutions?" Husband: "Yeah. Have you thought about those yet?" Wife: "No, I''m giving up on resolutions. I don''t even know why anyone does that anymore. This whole idea of a new year is man-made. It''s just the way we order our calendar." Husband: "I disagree with you there. I think it''s much more than that." Wife ...

1506. The Ministry Of Making Many Rich

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in generosity. Do you remember that witness of Jim Elliott — the famous missionary to the Aucca Indians? He put it so clearly and so challengingly in his diary: “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep, in order to gain that which he cannot lose.” Let that register vividly in your mind: “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, also.” You can lose your treasure ...

1507. The Eyes of Your Heart

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... dying, we have hope. Hope for today, and for tomorrow. Hope for here, and hope for there, with Jesus, on the other side. We can see it with the eyes of our heart. When we focus on the things that we can see with our eyes, we sometimes want to give up. When we feel only through our body, the pain is sometimes too great for us. When we think only with our minds, the thoughts can be defeating. But when we look with our hearts, there is always hope. In our hearts we can see that "maybe in a year the ...

1508. The Insight of Eyesight

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... misery and despair. " We black-out the sounds of abuse that drift from a neighbor's window. Instead of keeping our eyes focused on the future we prefer blinders that keep us narrowly trained on our present plodding path. Real discipleship costs. The price? Giving up our own visions and agendas and securities for the visions and agendas of God. To those given the gift of sight, there's a requirement attached. The blessing of eyesight requires we pass on the wisdom of divinely gifted insight. In other words ...

1509. A Mother's Love

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

James W. Moore

... to her child and she was willing to do whatever it took to get help for her sick daughter. She was bold, determined, persistent and courageous because she lived by the attitude of love. She would not be put off. She would not be discouraged. She would not give up because she lived by the attitude of love. Some years ago in a mining town in West Virginia… a 17-year-old-boy took a summer job in the coal mines. Being a "coal miner for the summer" sounded adventuresome and macho. However, the second week on ...

1510. An Excellent Epitaph

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... man to carry that player fifty yards. All the way the coach is urging, daring, challenging him, “You can do it! Don’t give up! Keep going! Don’t quit on me!” When the player finally collapses, he has carried that buddy, not for fifty yards, but ... you wonder how long can you keep going? If it is a worthwhile struggle, a God-glorifying struggle, God is challenging you, “Don’t give up! Don’t surrender! I’ll help you. Just don’t quit on me.” I have a slogan framed and resting on my desk. It ...

1511. Floating on Your Back

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... prompted by love.” No wonder the church at Thessalonica was so special to Paul. Finally, Paul praised the Thessalonians for their “endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ.” The Thessalonians had staying power. That’s so important in any task. Don’t give up. Keep working, keep loving, keep believing keep floating on your back, as it were and sooner or later things will look up. This kind of endurance is possible, of course, only if you have a reasonable hope that things will get better. Back ...

1512. Momentous Moment

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David T. Ball

... it: that communion is a time for us to strike a positive note, to reconnect with God, when despair could very easily be the order of the day. When we know we’re on the verge of something really, really scary, and it’s all we can do not to give up. That’s when we need a place to go, for support and love and strength. Communion is that place, and we are blessed to have it in our lives. I know of a college student who came from a fine Christian family, and a good community, and who had, if ...

1513. Take Up Your Cross

Mark 8:27-38

Illustration

... for Sunday. God made me for running, he tells his sister. He made me fast. And when I run I feel pleasure. To give it up would be to hold God in contempt. We feel like cheering as he crosses the tape and wins Olympic gold. After that, however, he gives up his Olympic career so that he can go to the mission field in China. So committed was he to Christ that he gave up athletic glory and ultimately his life, as he is killed at the hands of the Japanese in World War II. He was utterly committed.

1514. The Word that Changed the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... years in the lives of all those with whom we come in contact.” Warren Wiersbe put it like this: “A judge says a few words, and a man’s life is saved or condemned. A doctor speaks a few words, and a patient either rejoices ecstatically or gives up in despair. Whether the communication is oral or written, there is great power in words. I am told that for every word in Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, 125 persons lost their lives in World War II.” (4) Writing of Napoleon and his Italian campaign, Emil ...

1515. The Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon

1516. Two for the Price of One

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... us fall into the category of these friends of Jairus. We don’t have a clear vision of what Christ can do. We’d like to call it realism, but it’s really a lack of faith. We are always calculating on the basis of observable human resources. We give up too soon! We don’t open our minds and hearts to the immense possibilities of Another who has the last word. When we do this, we not only bog down ourselves, we drag others down with us. Jesus disregarded this word about the daughter being dead, and that ...

1517. How to Make Heaven Our Home

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... even consider you weird for not setting your values by public opinion. The devil is telling you everyday that it is too much, that the standard is too high, that you can’t reach it. He is quick to point out the places we fail, encouraging us to just give up. But, I have come to say to you today that you are children of another world. Your citizenship is in another land. You embrace a new set of values and they are Kingdom values. Jesus was very explicit about it. You have heard it said, “Do not murder ...

1518. Crying Out of the Depths

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of a chess match between the devil and an out-witted young man. The young man appears defeated. The devil appears to be making his final move to checkmate. As the grand master studies the painting he suddenly turns to the curator and says, “Don't let the kid give up. He still has another move." When you feel out in the depths, you still have another move. The ears of the Lord are attentive to our cries for help. There is a balm in Gilead, that heals the sin-sick soul. There is a balm in Gilead, that makes ...

1519. Serving the Poor—Compassionately

Matthew 25: 31-40

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... lives together. Some in the church thought of themselves as super Christians because they spoke in unknown tongues. To such a place as this Paul wrote the finest poem that has ever been written in the history of the world or as Eugene Peterson puts it: “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut. Love doesn't have a swelled head. Love doesn't force itself on others, it isn't always “Me first." It doesn't fly off the handle ...

1520. True Blood

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... called his disciples to be possessed by the Spirit, not possessed by stuff or substances. Jesus warned his disciples that to journey with him meant carrying the bloody cross every step of the way. Jesus revealed to his disciples that they must be willing to give up everything, even life itself, for the sake of loving and following him. To experience eternal life, Jesus said, we must drink his blood (Jn 6:53-54). A covenant is never “made.” A covenant is always “cut” (Exodus 24:6-8). You should never ...

1521. Acquired Taste

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... friend to rediscover and reignite the power of the Holy Spirit in his day-to-day faithfulness. This Spirit was not a “spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power, and of love, and of self discipline”(v.7). Timothy was called to give up a notion of faith that earned him universal approval and unqualified triumphs wherever he went. Timothy had to acquire a taste for a faith that saw suffering and rejection, even imprisonment and death, as expressions of his “holy calling” and in full accordance ...

1522. God Makes All Things New

Isaiah 61:10—62:3

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... a new name, a name that will be pronounced by the mouth of the Lord. Israel shall be a crown of beauty, a royal diadem in the hand of the Lord. God will once again favor Israel as a bride favors her jewels. As in the past, God will never give up on his chosen people. The covenant of God is fixed; it can never be broken. The message proclaimed by Isaiah in today's first lesson is one of the key missives of the postexilic prophets. God will continue to be faithful; the past will be forgotten. Now it is time ...

1523. Salvation Has A Name!

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... Americans the grace and mercy of the God of second chances? A pastor visited a family who visited at worship. Nothing happened. The pastor called on the family again a year later. Promises were made but nothing happened. The pastor refused to give up; he reminded the family that people need to address the spiritual needs of their existence. The family finally confessed that they had been kicked out of another congregation because of inactivity. Four years after their visit in church, the pastor made another ...

1524. The Faith of a Saint

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” In other words Christ is saying to those who most sincerely seek to follow him, “Don’t despair if things haven’t worked out for you like you had hoped financially, don’t give up if you are hurting emotionally, don’t let go of my promises if you are anxious about someone you love . . . I have not forgotten you and this is not the last word on your situation. You are mine and your hunger will one day be satisfied and ...

1525. Don’t Be a Trender - Be a Trendsetter

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ’ gospel is infinitely translatable, adaptable to all cultures. Jesus’ mission and message, his identity and integrity, were not “trends,” they were truths. But these truths could be incarnated in every culture so that people did not have to give up their native culture to follow Jesus. In other words, Jones believed that the truth of Jesus transcended Western culture. E. Stanley Jones spent the majority of his missionary life forging relationships in India, including a close friendship with Gandhi ...

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