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 151 to 175 of 4489 results

151. The Golden Calf

Deuteronomy 9:7-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Not because of Israel’s Righteousness: The warnings against false assumptions continue. Moses has already demolished any idea of national chauvinism arising from Israel’s election (7:6–10) and also any economic arrogance arising from their future prosperity (8:17f.). In this chapter he targets what is perhaps the most pernicious and perennial distortion of all—moral self-righteousness in the interpretation of military conflict. Together, these three challenges penetrate deeply to the evergreen sources of ...

152. Easter 5

Jn 13:31-35 · Acts 11:1-18; 13:44-52; 14:21-27 · Rev 21:1-6 · Ps 148

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 11:1-18 ; 13:33-52; 14:21-27 Peter reports the acceptance of the Gospel by the Gentiles. To understand this pericope, one needs to read chapter 10 concerning Peter's preaching to a Roman centurion and his household in Caesarea. The news of Peter's preaching to these Gentiles and their acceptance of the Gospel apparently came to the ears of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. When Peter explained what happened, the Jewish Christians praised God for admitting Gentiles into the Kingdom. ...

153. Christ Shall Return

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One of you told me recently about a pastor who one day visited a dear elderly member of the church. He decided to check on her salvation. He said, "Aunt Susie, do you believe in the hereafter?" She replied, "All the time, preacher, all the time. I go to the kitchen and think to myself, 'Now, what am I here after?" That little story reminds us all that we have to specify what kind of hereafter we're talking about. This morning I'm talking about the long-term future of our world. I'm not referring to where ...

154. Finding Our Way Back Home

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been accused of being a little absent-minded? Some of us have. We can take comfort in the fact that somewhere in Norway there is a young man named Jermund Skogstad who is worse off than we. Last year Jermund moved from the country to the city and rented an apartment. Thirty minutes after moving into his apartment, he stepped out for a bite to eat. By the time he found a cafe, he was hopelessly lost and had no idea how to get home. Further, he had forgotten the address of his new apartment. ...

155. The Boy Grows Up

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Each of us faces the choice of who and what we will become. Sometimes, we don't really know what we want to be when we grow up until we are forty-something. Our earliest models for making that choice are the people who raise and nurture us. Although we identify with the adults whom we admire most, each of us is unique and intended to become "our own person." Occasionally there is a family-owned business and we are expected to carry on in that tradition, or to choose the vocation of one of our parents. ...

156. Is God For Real? (Series: Read Faith For Real People)

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sooner or later it is bound to happen: A child or grandchild will pop the question, a young adult will want to know, a person dying will need the assurance. Sooner or later everybody asks, “Is God for Real?” It is the central, critical question confronting the Church and the world today. If I were a theologian, I could give you ontological arguments for God’s existence, but I am not a theologian. If I were a sociologist, I could remind you that 95% of Americans say they believe in God, but I never see that ...

157. Hope That Hangs In There

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For the first time in more than 100 years much of the Southeastern United States last summer reached the most severe category of drought, creating an emergency so severe that even Atlanta came within 90 days of running out of water. The little town of Omre, Tennessee, was hauling water on fire trucks from Alabama and limited water availability to three hours a day. Christian artist Michael W. Smith and the mayor of Atlanta pleaded for people to hold prayer meetings asking God for rain. I don’t know for ...

158. Follow Your Failures (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

John 21:1-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Some people say life is like an ice cream cone. The moment you think you have it licked, it drips on you! Regrets? I have had a few, how about you? Mistakes? I have made my share, how about you? When it comes to faults and failures, how can we find our way through? That is what I want us to think about today on our way to Holy Communion. I. Failure is Certain We catch up with Simon Peter today, back in Galilee. He is fishing and catching nothing. The same Peter who saw the empty tomb first-hand and ...

159. When It's Time To Unite

I Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

He drew a circle that shut me out, a heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout, but love and I had a wit to win, we drew a circle that took him in. I would like to complete this series of sermons on human relationships by talking about Christian unity. One bread, one body, one cup of blessing which we bless. Come…to the table. Come to the table, we need to talk. At the table, communication happens. People are drowning in information, but starving for communication. As one businessman said, “I don't understand. I ...

160. Deciding To Excel In Everything

II Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

James Russell Lowell wrote: “Life is a leaf of paper white Whereon each of us may write A line or two, and then comes night. Greatly Begin! Though you have time but for a line, be that sublime - Not failure, but low aim is crime.” When the apostle Paul asks the Corinthians to help the mother Church of Jerusalem he makes his appeal on the foundation of excellence. “Just as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for one another — see that you also ...

161. The Fellowship of Kindred Minds

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A cartoon, in a Saturday Evening Review, features a young boy sitting under a tree taking inventory of his relationships. “So far, I have 14 people who love me, 22 people who like me, six people who tolerate me, and I have only three enemies. I’d say that’s not bad for a little kid.” When it comes to relationships, how are you doing? We are made for community; we will never be satisfied to be self-reliant. We need one another. The friendships in the fellowship of the first century Church were so focused ...

162. Convening A Construction Crew: Nobody Builds Alone

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A cartoon in a Saturday Evening Review features a young boy sitting under a tree taking inventory of his relationships. So far, I have fourteen people who love me, twenty-two people who like me, six people who tolerate me, and I have only three enemies. When it comes to relationships, how are you doing? John Donne said over 400 years ago, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. Any man’s death diminishes me...therefore, never ask for whom the bell ...

163. When God Speaks

Psalm 29:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It was a young adult Sunday school party back in the days when I could still be considered a young adult. It was supposed to be a pool party, but as people gathered, it started to rain. As a pastor, I don't like it to rain on people's parties. I always get the blame. “Howard,” people say, “Can't you do something about the weather?" Normally I reply, “I am in sales not management." That day my explanation gave no satisfaction. So in an act of desperation I stepped up on a picnic table, stretched my hands to ...

164. Crying Out of the Depths

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown is sitting at Lucy's psychiatric desk getting absolutely no help from Lucy. With a forlorn look on his face Charlie laments, “Where do I go to give up?" One great value of the Psalms is that they put into words what we find difficult to express. Most scriptures speak to us. The Psalms speak for us. They enable us to articulate and bring before God our deepest feelings, our greatest fears, the lingering longings of our hearts, the troubled sorrows of our lives. So Jesus ...

165. Diving Deeper

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Did you hear the story about the toddler who fell out of bed one night? Hearing the fall, the father rushed to the room, picked up the kid, dried his tears, and put him back to bed. When things calmed down a bit, the Dad asked his son, “What happened, what caused you to fall out of bed?” Still sobbing, the toddler said, “I don’t know, I guess I went to sleep too close to where I got in.” Living on the edge is a problem, not just for toddlers, but Christians, as well. Some of us have stepped into the kiddie ...

166. From Anger to Courage

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Last Tuesday morning on I-65 here in Williamson County, a mild-mannered, easy-going, Christian man, flew into a fit of road rage. The episode sent another driver to Vanderbilt Hospital in critical condition. The incident got the father of three arrested and put in jail and tied up rush hour traffic for more than two hours. Anger – rage, wrath, hostility, hate – it's never very far away from any of us. You can find a 100,000 books and articles at Amazon.com to help you deal with it. The Bible is full of it ...

167. Esther: The Problem of Opportunity

Esther 4:11-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It's one of those books that some people doubt belongs in the Bible. Neither Luther nor Spurgeon would write a commentary about it. It's full of sex and seduction, blackmail and attempted genocide. The Book of Esther never mentions the name of God and no one can be found praying. So how did such a book find its way into the Holy Scripture? Maybe only one thing: The courageous act of a pretty woman who wound up saving a nation. Our last Old Testament hero is Esther, the Queen of Persia, a Jewish girl with a ...

168. Daniel: The Problem of Power

Daniel 6:10-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It was a large, impressive waiting room stocked with the latest magazines and furnished with the finest of furniture. On this particular day the place was packed with people waiting to see one of several physicians. In one corner of that waiting room, there sat an elderly lady crying. At first, she cried quietly, but as the hopes and fears of all years gushed forward she began to weep openly. There was a little boy sitting across the room playing with toys he found in his mother's purse. As the elderly ...

169. Honoring God in a Pluralistic Society

Matthew 22:37-40

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

My all time favorite story and one you have heard before, is the story about a little girl sitting in the family room one night drawing a picture. Noticing the intensity of his daughter's activity, her Dad asked, “What are you doing?" “I'm drawing a picture of God," replied the girl. “How can you do that?" inquired the Dad. “Nobody knows what God looks like?" Then with a smile on her face the girl said, “They will know when I finish my picture!" In a pluralistic society driven by uncertainty and relativity ...

170. Long-Term Learning

Illustration

Elden M. Chalmers

Do you feel as if you're a million years behind in one or more of your classes? Do you have trouble recalling anything when you hear the word "test"? You might do better if you tried a few simple learning techniques. When you study, what position are you in? Research shows lying down is the poorest position for learning. Sitting up is much better. Standing while learning is better still. And walking while learning is best of all, provided you're in familiar territory and don't stumble over anything. And if ...

171. Punishment for Israel

Hosea 9:1--10:15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Israel’s Loss of the Stuff of Life (9:1-4): Some commentators would regard 9:1–9 as the first complete unit in this chapter. Others would point to 9:1–6. Judging on the basis of rhetorical criticism, it seems best to divide the chapter into five separate oracles: verses 1–4, 5–6, 7–9, 10–14, 15–17. What we have here are several oracles, strung together by the redactor/disciple of Hosea on the basis of the common theme of the loss of vitality. In this instance, however, the beginnings and endings of the ...

172. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The King Becomes a Beast-Man and Then Recovers: In terms of form, chapter 4 starts out as a letter from King Nebuchadnezzar addressed to all people everywhere. It begins in the first person with praise to God (4:1–3). Next, the king relates in his own voice the story of his dream (4:4–18). Then the account shifts to the third person for Daniel’s interpretation (4:19–27) and for the narrative of how the dream was fulfilled (4:28–33). Finally, the text reverts back to the first person as Nebuchadnezzar ...

173. Reach Beyond The Break

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

The Passion/Palm narratives always remind us of the Suffering Servant. Our text today gives a portrait of the ultimate Servant, one who is willing to give of himself without reserve for the cause of the kingdom. Our text today shows us the image of the Messiah who is called and committed to total service because he knows that whatever the present circumstances God will bring him through. This servanthood is viewed from the perspective of one on a mission from God -- sent from God to be the guide for people ...

174. Repent

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There are nineteen more shopping days until Christmas. The big Christmas parade is past. The decorations are up. The parties are on. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. In the midst of jingle bells and Santa Claus, we find our way to church hoping to hear a few strains of “Silent Night.” Instead, we are shocked to our senses by a pit bull-type preacher shouting REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR! Who is this back roads guy with no degrees, no titles, and not many clothes, whose only ...

175. Innocent of the Blood of Jesus

Matthew 27:1-10

Drama

Joe Barone

As we continue our walk with Jesus to the cross, it might be well to consider where we've been. It all started when Mary anointed Jesus with an expensive flask of oil. From there Jesus went to the last supper where he acknowledged that Judas would betray him. We were at Gethsemane with the apostle James, and we watched Jesus stand before the Sanhedrin through the eyes of the high priest Caiaphas. Today, we look through the eyes of Pontius Pilate. Dramatic Monologue: Pontius Pilate He was no threat to the ...

Showing results