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 1701 to 1725 of 4957 results

1701. Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , loosening the strap of a sandal was a sign that the kinsman redeemer (“goel”) gave up his right to claim his brother’s widow (see Ruth 4:7-8). John’s image thus may also be a disclaimer that he is not Israel’s “redeemer.” Rather, there ... is another who will come and claim Israel as his bride. Luke and Matthew have John describe the baptism that will be offered by the Messiah as one of spirit “and ...

1702. Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1703. P.S. I Love You

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... .” Jesus’ disciples responded in obedience to Jesus’ word and the result was unexpected abundance. When St. Jerome exegeted this text he claimed the 153 fishes represented all the species of fish in the water. This means that Jesus’ net, the gospel, was to be ... have taken great delight in trying to parse the meaning of this numerological detail. Jerome cited the naturalist Oppian who claimed there were 153 different species of fish. The number in the disciple’s catch, therefore, was seen as an all ...

1704. The Total Gift

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... . It is through God’s amazing grace that we are included among the children of God. It is through Jesus that “we have received grace.” God’s grace is freely given and is not something that we ever earn or even deserve. Elsewhere Paul makes the astonishing claim that we are saved through grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Paul was writing with the hope of convincing the people of the reality of the gospel ...

1705. The Church Is the Place

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... discussion forums where people can comment on anything and everything from politics and religion to personal relationships. People relate to another person’s struggles and hope to find the advice or insight they desire. New communities are formed with people on various websites. Nana claims that she was feeling far from God. She was seeking advice for ways to feel close to God. She told how she grew up in a Christian home but by her own admission during her freshmen year she began hanging out with “the ...

1706. Lift High the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... the pathway to enlightenment and had difficulty focusing on the cross. The people living in Corinth were heavily influenced by Greek thought and philosophy. Paul points out that worldly wisdom did not lead to salvation, “the world did not know God through wisdom,” Paul claims. All the wisdom in the world does not lead anyone to God. Only through the cross can we find the God who saves us. A word of caution is in order; Paul was not saying that acquiring wisdom was not important. We benefit daily from ...

1707. Grow Up!

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... together the church can do amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul is credited as starting the church at Corinth, but another preacher Apollos came after he left. In that conflicted congregation sides were drawn with some remaining loyal to Paul and others claiming, “I belong to Apollos.” It is dangerous to our spiritual health when we elevate pastors to that level, and it is also bad for the pastor. People become stuck when all they think about is a former pastor or how much better they like ...

1708. Praise and Blame

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... led to destructive behavior. Later in life he surrendered his life to Christ. Today he is a leader in his church’s high school and college group. For many years he has opened his home every Monday night to cook a meal for a group of students. He claims that Monday is his best day of the week. A carpenter shares that while growing up his dad was never around to care for his family. His passion remains years later to offer free handyman assistance to a group of single mothers in the church. A woman went ...

1709. Be Shrewd

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to the “children of light,” that is to those who confess faithfulness. God’s children of light are falling short in their own dealings with the world and with the future. For all Jesus’ teachings about the age that is and the age to come, those who claim faithfulness do not act in this age in the ways fast approaching, in the radical new ways of divine forgiveness. In short, the faithful are not acting in this age in ways that will prepare them for God’s coming kingdom. As if one surprise is not ...

1710. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1711. Let Them Eat Cake

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is what Paul proudly proclaims to Timothy as “my gospel.” Underlying Paul’s declaration is the threat offered by those who are preaching a different message, an alternative “gospel” that is more acceptable to some. That teaching, revealed in 2:18 as a claim that for true believers “the resurrection has already taken place,” does not embrace the reality of a faithful life. The “good news” of the gospel, Paul insists, is married together like sweet and salt with a life on earth that expects ...

1712. The Widow and the Unjust Judge

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in court. She continues to return, again and again, pestering this judge, persisting in her appeal. And it is her doggedness that finally gets her some action. But the action taken by the judge is not motivated by any grudging acknowledgment of the validity of her claims or of the Torah-mandated demand for the care of widows. The judge, as always, acts only according to his own self-interest. In his own words, he continues to “have no fear of God and no respect for anyone” (v.4). What ultimately does ...

1713. Looking for Ducklings: Kissing the Sidewalk

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Tony Everett

... brings order in the midst of confusion, courage in the midst of cowardice, and calm in the midst of life’s storms. Today our text gives us a vision of the Son of Man who is in control when our lives spiral out of control. It was this claim that Jesus is standing with God as the Son of Man that finally got Stephen killed, you know. Stephen was one of a group of seven who were chosen to assist with distributing food to poor families in the community. After the resurrection, the Word of God spread quickly ...

1714. Prelude to the Passion

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... deal with public protests, vandalism, arson of a construction vehicle and a bomb threat. Opponents of the project held a protest rally and then sued the county to stop construction of the mosque. Their attorneys claimed in court that Islam was not a real religion deserving First Amendment protections. They also claimed that local Muslims were part of a plot to overthrow the U.S. constitution and replace it with Islamic law. (3) These newcomers to our country simply wanted a place to worship and demons from ...

1715. Ignite: Set On Fire!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... 3:11, ESV) Jesus was so excited about sending this fire He even said this, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49, ESV) When I look at the average church and when I look at the average person who claims to be a follower of Christ, a question comes to mind: “Is your Christian faith a raging fire or a dull habit.” The reason why the early church was so different was because it was made up of people who were ignited by the Spirit of God. Someone put it ...

1716. Ignite: Burning Love

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

James Merritt

... And he said to them, ‘Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came ... respected, biblical scholars of his day. You might call him the “dean of the college.” Later on, the Apostle Paul proudly claims that he studied at the feet of Gamaliel, because nobody knew more about Jewish law than he did. To put it ...

1717. She Had Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... a temptation and the weight of your mistake has caused a wall to be erected in your own mind that makes you feel a stranger to God’s grace. Listen, the Canaanite woman was a part of a despised people, but that did not keep her from having a claim on God’s grace just like every person who has ever walked this earth. Bring your hurt, your need, your urgent plea to Jesus. He always responds to the persistent pleas of persons with faith. He knows your need. Give him the chance to respond and bring healing ...

1718. Learning to Live Like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... if you wear their perfume, you will smell exactly like Jesus. I’m not making this up. Using the Bible as a guide to what kind of plants were used as perfumes in the Holy Land when Jesus walked the Earth, scientists at a perfume company called IBI claim that Virtue is a close approximation of what Christ and his followers would have smelled like. It’s a sweet blend consisting mostly of apricot, with a dash of frankincense and myrrh, which, of course, were given to the baby Jesus by the three wise men. (1 ...

1719. Drowsy Disciples

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... of Mark 13 adds up to suggest a long process. Don’t jump to quick conclusions, we hear him saying, for many things will need to take place and be fulfilled before the Son of Man appears. But then, in verse 30, he makes the remarkable claim that “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” The convergence of these competing themes leaves readers shrugging their shoulders. How, then, are we to know when Jesus will return? Well, frankly, we don’t know. And, notably, we ...

1720. Full Immersion

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... dominated by Artemis and her temple, her cult statue, and the secret rituals that commemorated the birth of Artemis, which proud Ephesians claimed had happened on a mountain above Ephesus. The power of the Book of Acts is that it is a series of stories ... with pagan rituals. There were Christian followers of the Greek goddess Artemis, who participated in erotica even though claiming to subscribe to Christian ideals and doctrines. Paul recognizes the problem, and immediately asks the key question: “Did you ...

1721. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... Some crucified men lingered for days, which has led some writers to propose that Christ died of a broken heart. After a Roman centurion confirmed his death, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect for that territory, granted permission to a man named Joseph of Arimathea to claim his body. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy and pious man, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who had become a follower of Jesus. Joseph was aided by a wealthy Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus. It was Nicodemus, you’ll remember, who had ...

1722. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , even if the trek itself causes the demise of any or all of the compatriots. So it is in these biblical glimpses of the mission of God. In a world turned cold to its creator, in an age riddled by Delphic oracles and temple prostitutes and emperors claiming divinity, in a little corner of geography where messianic hopes ran high, God calls together a strange team to make its mark by playing a different game. Walter Wangerin Jr.’s, great allegory, The Book of the Dun Cow (as well as its wonderful sequel ...

1723. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... school papers, but rather as the divine initiatives in an escalating battle between Yahweh and the Pharaoh of Egypt over claims on the people of Israel. The plagues were a necessary prologue to the Sinai covenant because they showed the sovereignty ... religious pageant, Passover recalled the bloody battle in which a captor (Pharaoh) and a lover (Yahweh) fought for the right to claim Israel’s hand. This event determined where Israel would live (so the instructions to make ready for hasty travel), who would ...

1724. A Personal History

John 18:1—19:42

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... said to the eunuch. But we do have here what the prophet said about Jesus. We might summarize it in terms of the following five themes: First, Jesus was innocent. It was “by a perversion of justice [that] he was taken away,” Isaiah claims. “He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” Surely this squares with what we see in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ righteous life and unjust death. Second, Jesus was unrecognized — and perhaps unrecognizable. Isaiah says that “he had ...

1725. Personal History

John 18:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

Showing results