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 1526 to 1550 of 4943 results

1526. The First Sign of Civilization

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... and rough. In Jesus’ day, it was common for thieves to hide among the rocks along this road and attack travelers passing through. (4) This man was caught in a bad neighborhood. Most of us use this information to justify what happened next. But not Jesus. Jesus continued, “A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” Lawrence Richards, in his Devotional ...

1527. Fear and Blessing

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

... fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!...you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.” Says another Psalmist, “I have never seen a righteous person's children beg for bread.”(Ps.37:25) And yet, even in the Bible, there is a continuing debate with this cheery notion that good living always yields good results. Consider the case of my friend Job. By all accounts, even in the opinion of Almighty God, Job was righteous. A blameless one who, in the words of God himself, “fears God and turns away ...

1528. Spirit Signs

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... flags of contention toward anyone who tries, including Jesus. I imagine that Jesus is just as frustrated with us today in our world and in our churches as he was in his own time as a human being on earth. And yet, he will continue to carry out God’s mission. He will continue to try to guide us, teach us, warn us, and throw fiery balls of contention and doubt within our well-laid out and most convincing arguments. If anyone can blow up a stalemate into an ultimately chaotic mess, it’s Jesus. Just look at ...

1529. Christmas Is Out of Control

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

John Jamison

... the way of God truthfully, and do not regard the position of men.” Have you ever had that happen? Someone walks up and is all smiley-faced and sweet-talking, but you know full-well that they’re just setting you up? Yeah. Jesus just looked at them as they continued: “Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” They smiled. They had him now. If he said it was lawful to pay the taxes, he was showing support for Rome. That would anger the zealots. But if he said it was not ...

1530. Have a Very Messy Christmas!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

... . In fact, Jesus told us that John was a prophet and was actually Elijah, the one who would announce the coming of the Messiah. But in the gospel of John, John stated that he was not a prophet and was not Elijah. While Jesus began his ministry, John continued his. The gospels even described a time when John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples got into an argument about why John’s disciples fasted and Jesus’ disciples did not. If we look at all of the material about John, it seems that not only did John ...

1531. A Young Man's Vow

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... time to time Dr. Schweitzer returned to Europe where he was honored for his achievements at Lambarene. Schweitzer was not without his critics who complained about his primitive hospital and its poor sanitary conditions, but the African people loved him and continued to come to him for medical services. During World War II he was prohibited from traveling because of wartime conditions. Schweitzer was noted for his organ music, especially for his mastery of Bach, but he also was acclaimed for his knowledge ...

1532. The Succession

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... it, hear it, know it personally and first-hand. And then almost humorously in a sense, Jesus adds: “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Including John! Insurance –to ensure John’s continued blessing and favor among his own disciples, those he will need to support him as he continues his mission. Jesus knows that the passing of succession from messenger to messiah is vital. He knows how important it is for everyone to recognize him as the receiver of that sacred scepter. He needs the ...

1533. Imagine This

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee.” This son, whose name was Saul, was proud of that heritage, and when he was old enough his family sent him all the way to Jerusalem to study the law, to continue his family’s proud tradition. Saul’s family must have had some clout because Saul’s teacher was a man called Gamaliel, still recognized as one of the most respected teachers in the land. Gamaliel was the grandson of Hillel the Elder, one of the most important ...

1534. Bible Wagon

Ephesians 5:8-14

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... get our word catechism, which means apostle’s instruction. Attendance at worship was also required during these years. During these years the candidates would study, pray, fast, and were taught the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. There would also be continued rites of exorcism intended to release the catechumen from the power of the devil. At the end of three years the congregation had to vote on each penitent’s acceptance. The liturgical rite of baptism began before dawn on Easter Day, the ...

1535. Living the FIRE Life

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... by God through Christ to the believer.[1] The word comes from the indogermanic (PIE) root leip––to stick to or adhere. Life IS connection. Through relationship, through connection, we find that we have the capacity to grow, to reproduce good things, to continue to change, as long as life persists. In the Book of Genesis, we see that God created everything that we know as “life” to be in relationship. Think about it. We live in a grand eco-system of interconnections and relationships. Even the ...

1536. Good News/Bad News

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... him or fail to believe that this had happened to him? “No,” the man explained, “the reason why I told no one was I was too afraid that it was true. And if it’s true that Jesus was really real, that he had come personally to me,” the man continued, “what then? I’d have to change my whole life. I’d have to become some kind of radical or something. And I love my wife and family and was scared I’d have to change, to be somebody else, and destroy my family, if the vision was real.” (3 ...

1537. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... by God’s Spirit, we will also discover that God is with us every step of the way. We will discover that God will give us the strength to accomplish far greater things than we could have imagined. And we will discover that God’s work will continue, and God’s promises will be fulfilled in us and through us. And when we look back at our life, we will see the goodness of God from beginning to end. 1. “Use Swedish Death Cleaning to Declutter Your Life” by Ashley Hamer Curiosity.com December 20, 2018 ...

1538. Walk the Talk

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... s messages. They, more than any others Jesus had encountered, held fast to their own beliefs, rituals, laws, and self-serving rules. They had lost track of what God had tried to tell them for years through the scriptures, the prophets, the kings, and others. They continued to see the world as their idol, believing in an alternative view of God. Jesus’ corrective went like this, as he tried to make clear God’s intent and their desired response: “A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son ...

1539. The Great Reveal

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... practical” and “doubting” group of people. For us to really “see” something new, we must see it multiple times in multiple ways that impact us, move us, and convince us it’s “real”! God’s presence, Jesus’ presence in the world, the Holy Spirit’s continued presence in our lives will always surprise us and challenge us in our doubt. That’s who we are as human beings. But it sure does make Jesus’ job awfully hard! The birth of Jesus and everything about him that comes after it –his ...

1540. His Own Knew Him Not

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , Jesus countered, “Blessing belongs only to those who hear and keep the word.” (11:27-28). It doesn't even pay to be a relative. The church should listen, for like the good synagogue-going folk at Nazareth, we can be sure that privilege continues to be perilous. We know. And sometimes our knowing is our undoing. This familiar biblical pattern of going to one’s own people, preaching, being rejected, and then going elsewhere is repeated many times in Paul's ministry, Jesus' ministry, and even is it ...

1541. Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... . When we pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, this means that we want God as present to us on earth as God is present in heaven. We're doing in prayer what we have been doing during this entire service: we are continuing to lay ourselves open to the presence of God, no matter what. In prayer we ally ourselves with that will, making our desires more congruent with God's desires. We don't simply wish that the poor should be fed, but that we should be participants in God's active ...

1542. Raising Power

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... humbled by our limited knowledge and power in the face of the vastness of God. Resurrection! It’s what we celebrate today on Easter Sunday! It’s the cornerstone theology of the Christian faith! It’s why we are here worshipping today! And yet, we continue to struggle with wanting to keep Jesus nailed to the cross or buried in the tomb, where it makes more sense to us that he must be. It feels so very “outlandish” and “impossible” to imagine the truth of the resurrection, doesn’t it? And ...

1543. The Feast of Leviathan

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that someday sin and death and this world will pass away, but that a new one will come to pass. Jesus is the augmenter of this new beginning. With his resurrection, the messianic age has begun. And we have a role to play in God’s continuing mission. Throughout Hebrew and Jewish history, whenever an act of God is to be celebrated, a feast is held. In the case of the Prodigal Son, the Father slaughters the “fatted calf” for a festive feast. In every sacred festival, including Passover, and our own Lord ...

1544.

Psalm 103:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... the explicit basis for this love (v. 11) and compassion (v. 13) is traced not to the narrative of the golden calf incident but to the creation narrative (Gen. 2:7): for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The motif of human frailty continues in the simile of humans like grass and like a flower of the field (vv. 15–16), which also appears in 90:5–6 (cf. also Isa. 40:6–8). Other parallels with Psalm 90 are God’s being from everlasting to everlasting (103:17 and 90:2) and ...

1545.

Psalm 145:1-21

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... as does attention to his royal role in the praise of the glorious splendor of your majesty. The final verse of this section turns to the beneficent aspects of Yahweh’s reign: your abundant goodness and your righteousness. The motif that the LORD is good continues in the third-person praise of the name, “Yahweh,” mentioned twice in verses 8–9. Verse 8 is a confession drawn from Exodus 34:6, part of the narrative of Yahweh’s saving acts towards Israel. But in verse 9 this confession is universalized ...

1546. “I Will Sing the Lord’s Praise, for He Has Been Good to Me”

Psalm 13:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... s no longer necessary for you to pray for me. Today I would like you to pray with me.”17 A mistake that many people make when they feel disappointed with God is that they turn their backs on him completely. What we see in Psalm 13 is encouragement to continue to look to God, and permission to speak honestly with the Lord. It was this process that brought David to a point of joy and praise even in the midst of sorrow. Our own story of faith Testimony: Ask a person from your church who has had a challenging ...

1547. Epistolary Conclusion

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The conclusion of the letter begins with an affectionate personal farewell, indicating that despite all that Paul has written, including some biting and pointed sarcasm, he nonetheless continues to regard his audience at Corinth with a genuine love as fellow members of the family of faith. Accordingly, as the father of their faith, he continues to urge them to “aim for perfection,” to “listen to [his] appeal,” to “be of one mind,” and to “live in peace” (13:11). He also encourages the ...

1548. Woe to the Complacent

Amos 6:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... to show how ill-placed is Israel’s confidence in every area of her life. And significantly the section begins with an oracle concerning the day of the Lord, because finally it is the day of the Lord that will bring Israel’s death. 6:1–7 Amos continues to attack those aspects of Israael’s life in which it rests its confidence, and here he treats one of the standard themes found in the prophetic writings concerning the day of the Lord, namely, the inability of fame and wealth to save in that day of ...

1549. Dancing in the Wind

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that Jesus was merely a talented teacher, a good person, a gifted prophet, or a wise leader. We don’t a sense of stability and a feeling of joy that exudes the entirety of our being from imagining that Jesus is just a man who lived long ago, who continues to teach us lessons and give us advice about life and love. We gain assurance and experience joy like no other in our lives when we suddenly realize who Jesus is –Son of God, Lord of Lords, imbued with all of the creative power of our Creator God, the ...

1550. Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

David Coffin

... church today. Sometimes we can do so much, or at least our very best to help, counsel, suggest, and yes maybe even “preach” a little bit to those whom we love. They may ignore us. Rather than get discouraged, we are called to move on and continue on with the mission God calls us. There are people that even Jesus Christ himself could not reach with his message. Possibly we can view this as a “seed planted,” and somebody else must nurture it in other ways. In the opening illustration, the high school ...

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