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 1726 to 1750 of 4943 results

1726. Faith is a River That Flows

Genesis 19:1-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Faith is a river that flows. May our prayers be reeds that cling to the rock From which springs somehow the living waters." I’ll bet all of you remember the first time you climbed the “big slide.” I mean the “BIG” slide, that one that you looked at as a child and thought –that’s awesome. But scary! Real scary! I mean, it’s WAY high, and it’s a long way to the bottom, and okay, wow! On the one hand, you are filled with that weird exhilaration to climb up there and have that experience of the wind whipping ...

1727. Joseph – The Promise Believed

Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-23

Sermon

James Merritt

Today we are going to begin a three week series of messages built around The Promise. What is The Promise? Before I tell you what it is, let me just say that you cannot understand the Old Testament apart from The Promise. You cannot understand the New Testament apart from The Promise. You cannot understand Christmas apart from The Promise. You can't understand your purpose in life apart from The Promise. The Promise goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had royally blown it. God had put ...

1728. Dynamic Preaching January 2024 Sermons

Sermon

King Duncan

[Note: While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: Preparing for a Royal Visit New Title: Getting Ready Mark 1:1-8 January 7, 2024 (Baptism of the Lord) A little boy attended his first symphony concert. He was excited by the ...

1729. Chapter VIII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not steal" Exodus 20:15 A long time ago, when the broadcasting of baseball games was just beginning, a sports announcer was describing one of the contests over a local station. In the late innings a Detroit Tiger runner got on base, representing the game’s tying run. With two outs, and no order from the bench to do such a thing, the runner took off for second base, only to be thrown out, ending his team’s chances for victory. To defend the player and soothe the hometown fans, the announcer tried ...

1730. No Fear

Psalm 23:4

Sermon

James Merritt

Fear—we all know what it is. It is one of the most debilitating emotions known to the human race. As a matter of fact, it is fascinating to see just what it is that people fear most. Here are the three greatest fears people have in America: Fear number one: Going to a party where they will be surrounded by strangers. Fear number two: Having to speak before a crowd. Fear number three: Being asked a personal question in public.1 Fear is unbelievably powerful. It penetrates the heart, it poisons the spirit, ...

1731. I'm Listening

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Name: I'm Listening New Name: The Power of Listening Legend has it that President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House ...

1732. The Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

This morning, I want you to imagine with me for a moment. Close your eyes if you will. Sit back. I’m going to take you to another place. But first a warning: during a big chunk of this sermon, you will have your eyes closed. You can tell your friends that you went to church this Sunday and the preacher told you to shut your eyes and keep them shut for a long time. Where else can you go to church and be encouraged to shut your eyes? Are you ready? Let’s take a trip in time. [pause] You’re driving home from ...

1733. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Everyone has a cracking point. There comes a certain point in our relationships with others or in our feelings about ourselves when everything snaps. You and I are emotionally and physiologically structured so that we can withstand only so much. There is only so much garbage, so much heat we can take. Then, like the valve on a pressure cooker, we simply blow off. Perhaps the six most dramatic words in the English language are these: "I just can't take it anymore." Every person has a cracking point. It ...

1734. Why Not Walk On What Jesus Walked On When He Walked On Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

I wish Matthew, Mark and John had consulted me before they wrote their gospels. If they had only sent me their rough drafts, I could have put a big red "X" through this story about Jesus walking on the water. (Luke apparently had a good editor. He didn't include this story.) I would have written a note in the margin stating that I think it would be best not to include this story because it would cause two kinds of reactions in the twentieth century: some people would laugh at it, and others would take it ...

1735. One Step at a Time

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

Two hundred thousand miles from home. You can't pull over to a gas station. You can't take your spaceship into the garage, but you now know that you have two hours to keep your space ship from becoming a permanent tomb floating in outer space. Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise realized they were facing an elephant of a problem, but they kept their wits about them enough to realize that the way to solve their problem was the same way you eat an elephant - one bite at a time. Has it ever occurred to ...

1736. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part V)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we are concluding our Lenten sermon series on Feasting and Fasting for Lent. It has been good for us to examine the Word of God each week to see how we can rid ourselves of those values, attitudes, and lifestyles that are an insult to the Holiness of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit to replace them with values, attitudes, and lifestyles that honor God and build us up to maximize our potential as disciples of Jesus Christ. We have been fasting to deny ourselves things that render invalid our ...

1737. Zeal!

John 2:13-22

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had one of those times when you had just had enough? One of those times that you have held your breath, you have turned away, maybe many times, because you just don’t like what you see going on, but then finally come to the point that you just can’t turn away one more time? You’ve had enough, and you decide you just can’t be silent any longer. So you do something fairly dramatic. Looking back on it, it may not have been all that smart, but you had had enough and you did it. Can you remember ...

1738. I Knew You’d Come

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

When the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, one reporter wrote, "The tragedy of man is that he cannot build a boat to match his boasts." In many ways we have been able to conquer the sea. When it loomed up as a barrier to our progress across the earth we built boats to sail on it, created atomic submarines to travel through it, and designed jets to fly over it. What’s more, we can even swim in it. But we cannot become master of it. The story which forms the miracle we consider now is about a ...

1739. As Seen from the Solitary Broom Tree

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Stan Purdum

I'm not sure when the term "burn out" ceased being only a description of what happened to a campfire when you ran out of firewood to a term describing the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, usually coming immediately after an extended period of overwork, but the expression seems to fit that later situation, doesn't it? Exhaustion, deep weariness, all used up, nothing more to give, wiped out, burned out — call it what we will, its symptoms are all too familiar to many of us. A study ...

1740. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God’s overpowering strength plus his overpowering love not only saves us but provides a life of joy. Understanding the Text This psalm belongs to the broad genre of royal psalms. Like Psalm 20, Craigie calls it a royal liturgy,[1] which suggests that it was used in worship. It is as if we are standing outside the temple and hearing the voices of worship, and we have a vague idea of what is going on inside the building as we try to picture the action in our mind’s eye. The question that the form ...

1741. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anybody here under pressure? Do you ever feel like you live in a pressure cooker? Did you know that it takes longer to cook food at high altitudes, because at high altitudes the air pressure is much lower than in the lower plains? Because of that the boiling point of water is lower, and therefore it takes much longer to cook food. But in a pressure cooker high pressures are built up within the vessel, which raises the boiling point of water, and food can be cooked within minutes. In fact, the ...

1742. For the Love Of God is Forgiving

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The headlines, news reports and newspaper stories all make it very clear that there is something out of kilter in our world. Whether you agree with its content or not, the crime bill is the biggest of its kind. It's because dealing with crime is on everyone's mind. Who'll be the next victim of a drive by shooting or a drug problem. Who'll be the next victim of gang violence or a drunk driver. While the Peace Talks are going on in the Middle East between Israel and Jordan and the Palestinians, the fighting ...

1743. The Main Thing

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34 “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”[1] The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. That’s important. You might want to write it down. I’ll say it again: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. It’s one of those seemingly self-evident rules that is absolutely essential if you want to succeed at anything. My Uncle John had a colorful way of illustrating the essential truth of it. Uncle ...

1744. Knitted Together from the Womb

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Il a l’air si paisible, endormi dans son couffin.” (He looks so peaceful sleeping in his bassinet.) We all start life grieving death. Or better put…We all go through life grieving the inevitability of death. And fearing when it will arrive. Maybe this is what leaves us so averse to risk. And yet, the people who are most risk-averse are what we might call the emotionally and spiritually “walking dead.” For risk is the fodder of relationships, of beginnings, of growth, and of life. Think about it. We take ...

1745. Cross Eyed: Focus

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Wasn't the rain last week great? It did so much to refresh the parched ground. It was great but I've got to tell you that it almost caused me to be in an accident. You see, the rain made me lose my focus. You know how it is when you're driving and the first drops hit your windshield. It's not enough to really turn on the wipers but just enough to make it hard to see. And you know if you turn on the wipers all you're going to do is smear all the dirt around. Well, I waited for a little bit for the rain to ...

1746. What to Do with Yesterday - A Sermon for a New Year

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

James McCormick

One of the first things Patricia and I had to learn when we moved to Big Canoe was how to deal with our garbage. We learned very quickly that if we just let it sit there, it would begin to stink up our lives. It would invite all sorts of pests. It would make our lives unpleasant in a variety of ways. So, as a matter of regular discipline, we had to pack it up, load it in the car, and take it to the dump. We had to get rid of it. Of course, there is more than one kind of garbage. The kind of garbage we put ...

1747. A Stone’s Throw Away

1 Samuel 17

Sermon

James Merritt

Anyone who knows anything about the Bible knows that beyond question, the central character and the hero of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. With the exception of Jesus Christ, one individual has more scripture devoted to Him than any other individual. Would you know who that is? Hint: It is neither Paul nor Moses. This character is mentioned in I and II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, and seventy-five psalms. He is the first person named in the New Testament after Jesus Christ and he is the last ...

1748. Syrophoenician Lives Matter!

Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) Animators (Props): cornucopia….apples…..pumpkins As we enter the fall season, we prepare for a lot of celebrations. Halloween, All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Advent. In the midst of all that, there are festivals for families and celebrations for children too. It’s the ...

1749. Watch This!

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

The first verse of this chapter in Luke is fascinating all on its own. Luke indicated that Jesus was being “carefully watched.” It almost sounds like a spy novel. Better yet, it sounds like Big Brother keeping an eye on unwary citizens. Jesus, of course, knew all this was happening. He warned us to be alert, and I’m sure he was vigilant as well. As a congregation, we’ve gotten access to the demographics of our surrounding area. It’s amazing what we know about the people we call neighbors. We are located in ...

1750. A Faith for the Uncharted Way

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Mann

A few summers ago my family and I made a motor trip west from our home in Ohio to the Pacific coast, and returned. We crossed the prairies and the plains, the Mojave Desert and the great salt flats of Utah; we drove through the Badlands and the Grand Tetons, and crossed the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains twice. We followed the trails of the pioneers, the Mojave, the Wyoming, and the Santa Fe. We traveled on good roads in a good automobile with a good road map. We had never been in any of that ...

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