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 4935 results

1526. Waiting

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

We modern people hate to wait. In our busy-busy, get-ahead, world waiting is a waste of time. After all, he who hesitates is lost. We must be "firstest with the mostest"; and, if the situation is not ready for us to be firstest, then we manipulate things to make it ready. Yet, before we go farther with these attitudes we all share, let us stop to consider that there are many good reasons for waiting. Let’s look and see. We wait for paint to dry. When we do not wait, the second coat bleeds through and we ...

1527. Luther of Wittenberg

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death ..." Philippians 3:8-11 Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn, "In the Hour of Trial." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown ...

1528. Resuscitating An Iguana

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Officer Tori Matthews of the Southern California Humane Society got an emergency call: a boy's pet iguana had been scared up a tree by a neighbor's dog. It then fell from the tree into a swimming pool, where it sank like a brick. Officer Matthews came with her net. She dived into the pool, emerging seconds later with the pet's limp body. "Well, you do CPR on a person and a dog," she thought to herself, "why not an iguana?" So she put her lips to the iguana's. "Now that I look back on it," she says now, "it ...

1529. Long Range Planning

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Our text for the day comes from that immortal television series, The A-Team. At the conclusion of each show the leader would light up his cigar and say, "I love it when a plan comes together." He's right! It is great when a plan comes together. In 1943 Great Britain was planning an invasion of Sicily. In order to carry out this invasion successfully British planners had to convince the Germans and Italians that the invasion would occur elsewhere. And so the British came up with a plan that would be worthy ...

1530. Getting Ready

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

We gather on this the second Sunday of Advent with joyful expectations. We can sense that something wonderful is about to happen. The countdown to Christmas Day is well under way. We can see the excitement in the faces of children who patiently wait for Christmas Day. It's harder for them to concentrate on their school work when their heads are filled with visions of "sugar plums." Something wonderful is about to take place and we are going to be a part of it. We are getting ready for Christmas. Christmas ...

1531. This Is Not What You Expected

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Jim French and a friend stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The meal was delicious, and French asked the waiter if he could have the recipe. The waiter was quick to oblige. A few minutes later, he returned from the kitchen with a piece of paper. All parties were satisfied. Until Jim French unfolded the paper. The recipe was written in Chinese. (1) This is not what Jim expected. That's like a "Peanuts" cartoon from years ago. In the first panel Charlie Brown says, "I learned something in school ...

1532. My Stress Is Killing Me! -- Is It?

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If you have memorized much scripture, our text is probably in your repertoire: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." This is one of those favorite texts that I've quoted a lot, referred to often, but never preached a sermon on it. So, as I close this series of sermons on the random texts that I have been tucking aside, I come to this favorite one. Newell Dwight Hillis, one of the ...

1533. 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 ...

1534. Will The Real God Please Stand?

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1535. At the Corner of Church and Main

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

David J. Kalas

Once there was a great intersection in the ancient city of Bethlehem. We know a little something about great intersections. When we travel by car, we discover that the intersection of interstate highways becomes the epicenter of all kinds of activity: lots of traffic, and with the traffic come motels, restaurants, gas stations, fast food places, and more. Furthermore, within certain cities, some particular intersections have gained worldwide fame. The corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, Piccadilly ...

1536. Something to Sing About

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our text for this morning's sermon is from Paul's letter to the Philippians. It's a prison letter. Some of the great literature of the world was written in prison. In this century, most recently, Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail, which turned the tide in the civil rights movement. After that letter was published, the movement gained national support. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor, wrote letters from prison, smuggled out by his guards in Germany. Those letters and notes, some just ...

1537. Traveling to the Mountain

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

We sometimes wonder what the world is coming to these days, and when we look at present conditions, we do not find very much that reassures us. Our nation is suffering a thorough-going breakdown of morality, with violence and wrong, selfishness and cynicism surrounding us on every side. Our world is full of poverty and hunger, wars and rumors of war, and whole populations subjected to tyranny and massacre. And try as we will to ameliorate conditions and to introduce some healing and good in society and ...

1538. How Can Religion Go Bad Doing Good?

Matthew 7:21-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Public art. If ever there were fight'n words, these two simple words, "public art" would certainly qualify. The moment the intention for any new public artistic display is announced, the public outcry begins - an outcry that only reaches its full volume when the new piece is unveiled. The opening of the new Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Berlin is no exception. From the moment the memorial first became a topic of discussion seventeen years ago, the fur began to fly. Battles began between the German ...

1539. Crack Open Some Easter Eggs and Be Cracked Open

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you have already found Easter eggs this morning? Did you bring any to church with you? Can I see them? (It would be ideal if you could have some kind of Easter egg – paper-egg tattoos? eggs made by the kids? – to pass out to everyone this morning. If you do this, don't go any further until everyone has an Easter Egg.) How many of you still have purple and green and pink streaks and spots around your fingernails form coloring a few dozen Easter eggs yesterday? Can I see them?... When you think ...

1540. Nothing but Christ, and Him Crucified

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

James McCormick

When I was a student at Millsaps College, the Chairman of the English Department was Dr. Milton Christian White. He had been there forever, it seemed, and I thought he was ancient. He must have been in his 60’s! He was a volunteer tennis coach, so I spent a lot of time with him. He was somewhat crippled with arthritis so that he walked with a kind of shuffle. He was balding and brilliant. (I have always thought those two go together.) He knew everything there was to know about English literature. I have ...

1541. Lent 1

Mt 4:1-11, Rom 5:12-21

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The themes of sin and death that were central to Ash Wednesday are carried over into the First Sunday in Lent. These themes, however, are explored somewhat differently. Rather than a prophetic announcement of divine judgment against the people of God in the form of the Day of the Lord, as was the case in Joel 2, Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 explores the consequences of sin for all humans and for the creation itself through the stark imagery of exposed nakedness in a garden that is quickly ...

1542. Lent 5

John 11:1-45 · Romans 8:6-11 · Ezekiel 37:1-14 · Psalm 130

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The two Old Testament texts for the Fifth Sunday in Lent provide stark contrasts between death and life. Ezekiel 37:1-14 is the eerie story of the dried and wind-blown bones that spring back into life as though we were watching a movie backwards. Psalm 130 is a penitential prayer. Ezekiel 37:1-14 - "Can Bones Be Brought Back to Life?" Setting. The primary setting of the book of Ezekiel is the exile. The prophetic oracles and visions in the book are addressed to a displaced people, who ...

1543. What Are You Looking For?

Acts 1:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Usually we move through this passage fairly quickly—ready to get on to chapter two and the excitement of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit: Flames of fire Speaking in tongues Preaching of Peter Birth of the church Or we get hung-up on the Ascension—the aerodynamics of this mystical, mysterious lift-off of the Risen Jesus into heaven. Or we focus on the promise of the Second Coming and all that might mean. But at the beginning of this series of sermons which is meant to lead us into conversation ...

1544. The Revelation Code III: The Mark on Harry's Forehead

Revelation 13:11-14:7

Sermon

John E. Harnish

The date was June 6, 2006….or 6/6/6….and there was all kinds of anticipation. Not as big as the turn of 2000 and Y2K, but given the times, it couldn't pass without notice. The internet was awash with frenzied doomsday predictions. Heavy metal rock bands and right-wing religious publishers used it for self-serving marketing. One website, with what it calls a "rapture index" which calculates the likelihood of Christ's return, said it was time to "fasten your seatbelts." Some pregnant mothers tried to speed ...

1545. Dusting Off Our Gratitude

Joel 2:21-27

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

In the Deep South there is a most unusual monument paying homage to, of all things, the boll weevil. Enterprise, Alabama, is known as "Weevil City" for this unusual tribute to a devastating pest. In its spoof news commentary, Comedy Central has featured this thirteen-foot statue of a woman holding a huge black weevil over her head. Once when vandals removed the weevil from the statue's arms, Comedy Central captioned the news segment reporting this event as "See No Weevil."1 Carl Sandburg and Brook Benton ...

1546. The Kingdom of God Has Come Close

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The Bible says there are many for whom "the Kingdom of God has come close." Close is not good enough. What is preventing us from experiencing the presence and power of God in our midst? Winston Churchill had just delivered his tremendous "Blood, Sweat and Tears" speech. Harold Nicholson heard it, went home and wrote in his diary: "Winston makes a very short statement, but to the point." (Harold Nicholson, Diaries and Letters 1930-64, ed. Stanley Olson [New York: Atheneum, 1980], 83.) A newspaper editor in ...

1547. Enemies of Promise

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What are the enemies of promise that keep us from becoming the persons God made us to be? Rob Reiner's film Stand By Me tells the story of a group of four boys on their last journey of childhood. They are four very different kids from very different circumstances, and yet, they are still young enough that these differences don't matter very much. But they sense their time is short. It is the summer before they will enter junior high - where our education system and adolescence work together to divide ...

1548. The Dynamics of Being a Dad

Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The idea of Father’s Day was first proposed by Mrs. John B. Dodd, in 1909. She wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a civil war veteran who raised six children on his own when his wife died at child birth. So the next year at her Methodist church in Washington state, Mrs. Dodd led the first known celebration of Father’s Day honoring the “father’s place in the home and his role in the training of children.” This religious celebration, however, did not stay religious very long. The associated men’s ...

1549. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

Many folks, especially preachers, don't know what to make of Luke's accounts (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11) of the ascension of Jesus. The other three gospels don't mention it and, frankly, the story seems a little too mythical for twenty-first-century readers. Educated people of the western world have discarded the three-tier cosmology. In the understanding of today's universe, it's not possible to know what is up and what is down. People looking up into the skies today might be looking at other beings on ...

1550. Water Into Wine

John 2:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Weddings are special. Normally all goes well, even though the happy couple should always be warned that something can easily go wrong and often does (as all the footage on America's Funniest Home Videos through the years regularly attests). My advice to wedding parties is to look for something to go wrong, then consider it God's good gift to keep us on our toes. Weddings can be adventures. Several years ago one went just beautifully until the very end of the ceremony. In that tender moment when bride and ...

Showing results