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 4944 results

1526. Love And Friendship

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

A boy was asked about his family, when he enrolled for church school. The teacher responded with a quizzical, "Oh," after the boy revealed that he had no brothers or sisters. To which the youngster piped, "But I've got friends!" It is so good to have friends. But, what is a friend? Satirist Ambrose Bierce defines friendship as a ship big enough to carry two in fair weather, but only one in foul. This is a rather negative portrayal compared to an Arabian explanation that characterizes a friend as "one to ...

1527. When God Is Silent

Psalm 35:1-28

Sermon

Erskine White

But [Jesus] did not answer her a word. (Matthew 15:23a) The Canaanite woman came to Jesus for the best of reasons, asking for His mercy; she was praying that Jesus would heal her afflicted daughter. She was determined and who wouldn't be in that same situation? Who among us wouldn't move heaven and earth to reach someone who could cure our ailing child? She came to Jesus begging for help, but at first, He did not reply. Our text says that "He did not answer her a word." Have you ever had that experience, ...

1528. For of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 19:13-15

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

Death on the School Playground __________ was ten years old when his hfe ended tragically through a childish experiment of holding his breath and attempting to render himself unconscious. I recall the trick was not uncommon when I was a child. Expelling all possible breath a fellow classmate was asked to hold you tightly in a bear hug from the back. On the school playground this was done to ___________. Following release he staggered around, screamed, and fell to the ground unconscious. It was later ...

1529. For a Cancer Victim

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Eulogy

James W. Robinson

Mary at the Party Mary, for thirty years a recovering alcoholic, and afflicted with cancer, "kept on keeping on" with faith, hope, love, and unquenchable cheer, until she crossed life's final finish line. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." So said Paul in his letter to his young friend, Timothy. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul also referred to a race. He wrote, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ( ...

1530. The Dimensions of the Decalogue

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

God made it clear to Moses, and through him to the people of Israel, that those who would abide by his covenant are expected to live a different kind of life from people who do not believe in God. He did so by setting out the code of Old Testament law, which we call the Ten Commandments, or the Decalogue. Not only did God address this word to the ancient Israelites, expecting them to observe it, but modern Jews and Christians, too, are to respect God’s laws and live lives that are "holy and acceptable to ...

1531. How Can We Foretell the Future?

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Edward Chinn

In 6,000 years, our descendants will open the Crypt of Civilization at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, and discover how twentieth century people lived. A president of the University, Dr. Thornwell Jacobs, created a vault in the Atlanta institution because he wanted people out there in the future, around the year 8,000, to have a "complete picture of how human beings lived and thought during the days of our generation." The date for the opening of the Crypt was chosen, because it represented a ...

1532. Walking On The Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

We may wonder why such a whimsical story as that of Jesus walking on the water should even appear in the Scriptures in the first place. The story has certainly provided humorists with plenty of material. You know the kind of story I have in mind. "The wife of football coaching legend Bear Bryant once held a telephone receiver in her hand as she gazed out the window of a lakeside cottage, "Oh, no," she says, "It will be no trouble to get him. He is simply having his morning stroll across the lake." The ...

1533. The Third Commandment: God's Last Name Is Not...?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

We continue today in our series on the Living the Ten Commandments. Today we come to the third instruction which teaches us: Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord is very serious when his name is used or attached to something or someone. When God’s name is honored so is everyone and everything else. As you have already probably observed the first four commandments deal with our relationship primarily with God. These are vertical. They are directed upward. They deal with our respect and ...

1534. Resting at the Mediocre Inn

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

On the way to the top of the highest peak in the French Alps there is a small inn. This inn provides rest and respite for mountain climbers. It is called the Mediocre Inn, which in French simply means “halfway.” "Imagine coming off a day of climbing in the icy, windy French Alps,” says Dr. Jay Strack. “The cold has seeped into your bones. You’re exhausted, and every muscle in your body hurts. At the Mediocre Inn, you find a hot meal and a warm bed. You begin to relax, put your feet up, get comfortable. Who ...

1535. King of the Mountain

1 Peter 3:13-22

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

In a large stone cathedral in Europe there was a grand, magnificent pipe organ. On a particular Saturday afternoon, the sexton was making one final check of the choir and organ loft high in the balcony at the back of the church. As he was making his inspection, he was startled to hear footsteps echoing up the stone stairway behind him. He thought the doors were all locked and that no one else was in the church. He turned to see a man in slightly tattered traveling clothes coming toward him. "Excuse me, sir ...

1536. The Smell of Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Can you smell the fear? Hunters and soldiers have long spoken of experiencing firsthand the smell of fear. It's a scent as different from plain old hard-work perspiration as a gardenia is from garbage. The smell of fear has always been associated with panic, desperation, anxiety, fight, flight, and fright. Since September 11, 2001, however, the smell of fear has taken on a new aroma a distinctive scent known by a host of new entrepreneurs as the smell of money. The Business of Fear (Business 2.0 [June 2003 ...

1537. What More Can He Give?

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

James McCormick

For 2000 years, the vitality of the Christian Church has been determined by what we have done with Jesus. When Jesus has been the center of our attention and we have sought to follow him as faithful disciples, then the Church has been strong. But when we have misplaced him amidst the clutter of our bureaucracy, or relegated him to a marginal place in our theology, then we have been weak and impotent. It’s always been true: As goes our relationship with Jesus, so goes the Church! The earliest Christian ...

1538. Freedom Faith Brings

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt shared with America what has become known as "The Four Freedoms." He believed that all people should enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those degrees have been wide achieved in America. Freedom and America are practically synonymous. America is known as the land of the free. We have political freedom; we are a democracy, and therefore a free society. We have economic freedom; we are capitalists who believe ...

1539. Abraham and Sarah: Backing Into the Future

Hebrews 11:1-3; 8-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

New York Times Dateline: New Orleans, September 2: They waited, and they waited, and then they waited some more in the 90-degree heat. As many as 5000 people huddled at a highway underpass on Interstate 10, waiting for buses that never arrived to take them away from a storm they could not escape. Babies cried. The sick huddled in the shade in wheelchairs or rested on cots. A few others, less patient, simply started walking west with nowhere to go. [1] Thousands…going out, not knowing where they are to go, ...

1540. A Circle for Dorothy

Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

"If you only had one sermon to preach..." Well, we made it through the first one, and you came back! So what's the theme of the second Sunday? The church, of course. This week and next, we will explore two images of what it means, for me, to be the church. This week, we look to one of the most important books in the New Testament: Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I discover that I have preached from this book more often than any other book in the New Testament. It offers Paul's clear statement of the core ...

1541. The Twenty-Ninth Chapter of Acts

2 Timothy 4:1-22

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Pentecost and Peter and the first great sermon of the new era. Andrew and Barnabas, and yes, Ananias and Saphria in their greed. Philip and the Ethiopian. We have tracked the early days of the early church in these first eight chapters of the book of Acts to try to catch a glimpse from the first century of what God might have in mind for us in the twenty-first century; to discover what it means to be a model New Testament Church for today. Now fast-forward… I realize we are skipping over the greatest ...

1542. To Catch a Thief

Exodus 20:15

Sermon

James Merritt

I have to admit it and I can't hide it. One of my favorite characters in fiction and one of my all time favorite movies is Robin Hood. Whether it is the version with Errol Flynn (who you baby-boomers will remember) or the version with Kevin Costner (who some of the younger generation will remember), I really loved the action, the swashbuckling fights, the romance, and the legendary archery skill that is displayed. Let's face it - they are fun movies and Robin Hood is a fun character. When you think of ...

1543. We Serve a Risen [and Rising] Savior

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This year the International Air Guitar Championships were held in Denmark. Contestants “played” before huge crowds, screaming devoted fans, and enjoyed World Wide Web exposure. The Air Guitar games are dedicated to world peace. According to the ideology of the Air Guitar Championships, wars would end and all bad things in the world would disappear if all the people in the world played air guitar. [At this point, you might consider arranging for one of your kids to come to the front and show the ...

1544. A Faith That Transforms, Not Just Adorns

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The beauty business is big business. Adorning ourselves, perfecting every perceived imperfection, curling what is straight, straightening what is curly, bleaching this/highlighting that, products that promise to make youngsters look older and oldsters look younger never lose their appeal. “Stuff” made out of low-tech squished fruit or high-tech spliced genes all promise to adorn and ultimately to transform our faces, save our skin, and sanctify our souls. If only we will buy just this ONE product. An ...

1545. Step into Your 'Adjacent Possibility'

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Ever get overwhelmed? When my Gramma would get overwhelmed with work, anger, excitement, whatever she would exclaim: “I am just beside myself!” What she meant was that there was just too much of what she was feeling to be contained by one person. To be “beside yourself” was not a good thing. But what if where you are starting from is not the best place to be? What if where your life stands right now is not a good place? Maybe if you could get outside yourself if you could get out of the space your heart ...

1546. God's Day Off

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

We know the importance of taking breaks. "You've got to stop and smell the roses." "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy — and Jill a rich widow." Even the Bible affirms the premise — one of the Ten Commandments: "Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy ... Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work ..." (Deuteronomy 5:12-14). And it is not a suggestion; it is a command! To be sure, many, through the years, ...

1547. Belonging to Christ's Flock

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A couple retired to a small Arizona ranch and acquired a few sheep. At lambing time, it was necessary to bring two newborns into the house for care and bottle-feeding. As the lambs grew, they began to follow the rancher’s wife around the farm. She was telling a friend about this strange development. “What did you name them?” the friend asked her. “Goodness and Mercy,” she replied with a sigh. (1) She was referring of course to a line in everyone’s favorite Psalm, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ...

1548. The Jews and the Law

Romans 2:17-29

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Psalm 51 records the confession of David when the storm of guilt from his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah broke upon him. Psalm 51 is, in fact, descriptive of the human condition, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.… Surely I was sinful at birth” (vv. 3, 5). It may be possible to maintain confidence in one’s virtue if one limits or controls the field of comparison. It is common, for instance, in comparative studies of various kinds, to compare the strengths of one system ...

1549. Jesus Is Coming

Revelation 22:7-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

The concluding section of early Christian letters often contains the author’s benediction, typically expressed as a prayer or doxology, but often accompanied by many other pastoral conventions as well. In his letters, for example, Paul sometimes closes his correspondence by greeting various acquaintances in a particular congregation (cf. Rom. 16), perhaps to encourage them in their faith (cf. 1 Cor. 16:19–20) or to give them instructions (cf. Col. 4:15–16). In several of his letters, he includes a list of ...

1550. For The Love of God is Giving

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The widow Jesus points out in today's passage is considerably different than one I read about in newspaper article a number of years ago. It seems that in Indianapolis, a wealthy widow was found dead in her home. The police discovered over 5 million dollars in cash stuffed in trash cans, shoe boxes, drawers, tool boxes, paper bags, the pockets of clothing and even in a vacuum cleaner bag. Most of the money was in $100 bills. Two million of the money was found in a trash can next to the widow's bed. Mrs. ...

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