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 1551 to 1575 of 2561 results

1551. Fear Factor

Psalm 25:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

So . . . when did throwing up become the newest spectator sport? The hottest TV trend in pop culture? The red-hot reality show fear factor is supposed to highlight people facing up to and facing down their greatest fears. Whenever I've tuned in, the only thing I've seen is people hurling. They have good reason. The most crowd-pleasing, Nielsen-boosting activity seems to be when the "everyman" and "everywoman" participants are forced to consume large quantities of such disgusting delicacies as horse rectum ...

1552. Proper 8

Matthew 10:1-42, Romans 6:15-23, Psalm 13:1-6, Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament texts for this Sunday are about divine testing. Genesis 22:1-14 is the story of how God tested Abraham in commanding the sacrifice of Isaac, while Psalm 13 is a lament that provides liturgical language for how we approach God during times of testing. Genesis 22:1-14 - "To Fear God Is to See God" Setting. The story of Genesis 22 is sinister. God's command for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in the opening verse is outrageous, and, even though the narrative progresses to a ...

1553. Thanksgiving Day, North America

Luke 17:11-19, Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Psalm 65:1-13, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Deuteronomy 8:7-18 is a sermon by Moses calling Israel to remember that their good life in the land is a gift from God. Psalm 65 is a hymn. Deuteronomy 8:7-18 - "Giving Thanks" Setting. Deuteronomy 8 is part of a larger section of literature that includes chapters 6-8, in which Moses exhorts Israel to keep the law. This section looks at law from a number of different perspectives. Law is introduced with the promise of blessing in 6:1-3, and it is equated with love in 6:4-9 ("Love the ...

1554. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Canaan Valley, West Virginia is a high mountain valley. It is, in fact, the largest high mountain valley east of the Rockies. The valley nestles in the bottom of a bowl, surrounded by barren, windblown tundra on the tops of the mountains. As you walk across the strangely spongy surface of the mosses and lichens that cling to the earth high up on the mountain ridge, suddenly there rears up a row of teeth in front of you, stone stalagmites pushing up from the earth. Chiseled and chipped by decades of wind ...

1555. Be of One Mind

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old story about a henpecked husband who went to a psychologist. He was tired of being dominated by his wife. The psychologist told him, “You do not have to accept your wife’s bullying. You need to go home right now and let her know that you’re your own boss.” The husband decided to take the doctor’s advice. He went home and slammed the door on the way in. He confronted his wife and said, “From now on you’ll do what I say. Get my supper, then go upstairs and lay out my clothes. After I eat, I’m ...

1556. Just Know Him in His Victorious Resurrection

Acts 13:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

Billy Graham once said, "If I were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the Resurrection because that is the heart of Christianity." The British philosopher, C. E. M. Joad, was once asked, "If you could ask one question, and be sure of getting the right answer, what would it be?" Without a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead?" That indeed is the question of all questions. To say that Jesus Christ died is one thing. Even to say He died on a cross for the world's ...

1557. 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 ...

1558. After the Casket Is Closed

Luke 23:46

Sermon

James Merritt

I recently read a letter from the South Carolina Department of Social Services that gives great insight into how the government can sometimes look upon death. Dear Sir: Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992, because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may re-apply if there is a change in your circumstances.1 Circumstances do not change death, but death does change circumstances. We saw that this past week when John McSherry, a 51 year old umpire, collapsed and ...

1559. Going the Second Mile

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

James Merritt

Mark Twain once said this about the Bible: "I have no problem with those parts of the Bible I don't understand. It's those parts of the Bible I do understand that gives me fits." The passage that we are going to study certainly fits into that category. This passage illustrates something I bet most of you have never thought about before. One of the easiest things in the world to do is to become a Christian. It is ridiculously easy. All you have to do is confess you are a sinner, repent of your sin, believe ...

1560. The Truth about Trouble

2 Timothy 4:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to confess that I am a Tarzan movie buff. I love all of the old Tarzan movies, especially the ones with Johnny Weismuller. Even though I have seen every alligator he has ever killed, every elephant he has ever called, and every vine he has ever swung from, I never get tired of watching his movies. I guess that's why this story is both so funny and so meaningful to me. It seems as if Tarzan was not himself, and Jane was very worried. It was apparent that Tarzan was developing a problem, a very ...

1561. It Is Right To Fight When You Fight For Right

Jude 1:3-4

Sermon

James Merritt

What do Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, William and Mary, Brown, and Princeton have in common? They were all founded by Christians for the primary purpose of propagating Christianity and training gospel ministers.1 Of the first one hundred colleges and universities built in the United States, eighty-eight were founded for the purpose of furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the cornerstone of Harvard University (which incidentally was named after the Reverend John Harvard) etched in bronze you will ...

1562. God's Prescription for a Healthy Christian

Jude 1:17-21

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard a story one time about a young doctor just getting started in his first practice out in the country. This was back in the days when doctors made house calls. Late one night he got a call from a farmer who said, "Doctor, come quickly, my wife is seriously ill." Well, grabbing his little black bag he hurried out to the farm. The farmer met him on the steps, rushed him into the house, and upstairs into the bedroom where his wife lay sick. The doctor took a look at her, told the farmer to step outside ...

1563. The Thrill of Victory Beats the Agony of Defeat

Judges 7:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

The United States is known around the world as a "Christian nation." There are several reasons why one might think that is true. In America there are: 1,485 Christian radio stations 300 Christian television programs 96% of all Americans are "believers in God" 70 million born-again believers 148 million professing Christians 62% of all Americans say they have "made a commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today." Now if America is indeed a Christian nation, you would think that God ...

1564. What Impresses God

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a very lost, wicked, rebellious man who decided it would be good for business if he went down to the church and joined it. He was an adulterer, an alcoholic, and had never been a member of a church in his life. But when he went down to the altar to join the church, he gave public testimony to the church that there was no sin in his life, and that he had grown up in the church, and they readily accepted him as a member. When he went home he told his wife what he had done, and his wife, a very ...

1565. Don't Forget to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard about a man that went to see his doctor because he was feeling absolutely terrible. The doctor gave him a careful examination, left the room to look at some tests, came back in with a very somber expression on his face, and said: "Sir, I don't know how to break the news to you, but you have rabies and you're going to die very soon." The man very calmly got out a piece of paper and began furiously writing. The doctor said: "What are you doing, making out your will?" He said: "Oh no, I'm writing out ...

1566. Nothing but the Blood

1 John 1:7

Sermon

James Merritt

The greatest evangelist of the Twentieth Century, without question, was Billy Graham. The greatest evangelist before him of the Nineteenth Century undoubtedly was Dwight L. Moody. Both shared a common trait. They were criticized because of a particular subject they preached about. When Billy Graham was getting started, a professor from Cornell University wrote him a letter and said, "Mr. Graham, you have great talent, and you have what it takes to be a successful minister. But if you want to continue to be ...

1567. Know Your Weeds

Matt 13:24-30, 36-43

Illustration

Todd Weir

Pastor Todd Weir knows a lot about weeds. He says: I learned more about weeds than I ever wanted to know as a boy in Iowa. Walking through the soybean feels to cut out the weeds was my summer job from age 13. A wise farmer once taught me that all weeds were not the same and could not be destroyed in the same way. A cockle burr had shallow but widespread roots and had to be pulled out to get all the roots. If you hacked it off at the ground level with a hoe it would be back in a week. A milkweed had a very ...

1568. Bugles in the Afternoon

Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

I borrow my title from the outstanding British Methodist preacher and world Christian, Colin Morris. He titles his volume of sermons Bugles in the Afternoon. He says his title is based on the legend that Satan was a fallen angel who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Sometime later, the tradition goes, Satan was asked if there was anything he missed from heaven. Satan responded: "I miss the sound of trumpets in the morning." Glorious image, isn't it? "Trumpets in the morning." It brings to ...

1569. Keeping Shut About the Good News

Acts 3:1-10; Acts 4:13-20

Sermon

John E. Harnish

A parable, a statistic and a post script… The Parable Once upon a time, a group of people in a small town realized their town was in trouble. So they built a swimming pool, opened it to the neighborhood and invited everyone to come. And the people came. And they were happy. They discovered a new sense of community and the whole town was renewed. The idea spread to other towns and soon there were swimming pools in every town and every neighborhood. Soon there were so many swimming pools, they decided to ...

1570. Whose Side Are You On?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

“Shoot Me First.” That’s what a courageous 13-year-old Amish girl said to the crazed man who broke into her school on Monday, October 2, 2006. “Shoot Me First.” He did shoot her, killing her along with five of her schoolmates, aged seven to thirteen. Then he killed himself. The shooter, Charles Carl Roberts, a 32-year-old milkman entered the humble one-room schoolhouse with the intent of killing as many students as possible. But one student, Marian Fisher, the oldest of the five Amish girls shot dead that ...

1571. Building Relationships

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1997 the following letter appeared in newspapers throughout our land: Dear Ann Landers: You recently printed a sweet “how‑we‑met” story. The woman said at the end of World War II, she sat behind a soldier in church. He knew all the lyrics to the songs so she figured he couldn’t be all bad. Later, she learned he was a doctor. Three months later, she slipped on an icy walk and injured her arm. That same doctor insisted she stay in the infirmary, and he visited her twice a day. When she was discharged, he ...

1572. Our Hope, Our Terror

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

Several summers ago I spent three days on a barrier island where loggerhead turtles were laying their eggs. One night while the tide was out, I watched a huge female heave herself up on the beach to dig her nest and empty her eggs into it. Afraid of disturbing her, I left before she had finished. The next morning I returned to see if I could find the spot where her eggs lay hidden in the sand. What I found were her tracks leading in the wrong direction. Instead of heading back out to sea, she had wandered ...

1573. Blazing a Path to Christ

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." When we were children we were taught this little rhyme as a way to remember one of the most momentous events in modern history. Columbus was a trailblazer who dared to believe that it was possible to reach the East Indies by sailing west across a vast uncharted ocean. By its very nature the voyage was dangerous and the sailors who braved the challenge were filled with fear. People are instinctively afraid of what they do not know. Yet, even with the odds stacked ...

1574. Beware: Hypocrites on Premises

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

David T. Ball

Whenever I happen to be in a conversation with someone about why they don't go to church, it seems like the reason that they almost always give is that they can't stand all the hypocrites. I don't take this personally -- they aren't saying that all churchgoers are hypocrites -- just that there are usually too many hypocrites for their liking. I guess their reaction is understandable. Who would want to go to a church filled with people who don't practice what they preach? That would, at the very least, be ...

1575. Heresies of the Heart

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Un-Christ-like attitudes, not doctrinal creativity, make up the heresies gnawing at the heart of the Church today. In order to avoid complete cardiac collapse, we must address this heart disease and work to eradicate it. In this complex, open-ended, multiple-choice age we rarely dwell on the established doctrinal foundations of our faith. Even less do we seriously entertain the notion of genuinely heretical views undermining the sanctity of those foundations. In its past the Church has been inflamed by " ...

Showing results