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 1751 to 1775 of 4938 results

1751. Exuberant and Full of Joy

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

... for war." Goodman concludes that this so-called realism of adults may be the true "junk food" of our time. "We instill ideals in our children, resent it when our children challenge us for not living up to them, and then feel reassured when our kids give up their ideals like sleds or cartoons." (Quoted in a sermon by David W. Schreuder in Master Sermon Series, Cathedral Publishers, pp. 467-468) Can this be what Jesus had in mind when he asked His disciples not to lose the child-like spirit; when he warned ...

1752. Listening for the "Ching-ching"

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... continues to care. Amidst the grief, the confusion, the chaos, and the uncertainty, Jeremiah points the way to God's own heart. This is a God who continues to care even for those of us "hell-bent on self-destruction." This is a God who refuses to give up even on us, and who continues to work redemption's plan. "Is there no balm in Gilead?" the lamenter asks. "Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?" The region famous for its healing medicine could not produce that which was necessary to ...

1753. Don’t Look Back

Luke 9:57-62

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

... Jesus. Our desires for soft pillows and comfortable beds, for fulfilling family and social obligations, will frequently have higher priorities than following Jesus especially following Jesus all the way to the cross. We might be willing to give up some evils in our lives to follow Jesus, but to give up all these good things to put them as a lower priority than Jesus? That is radical discipleship, but Paul writes about doing this in Phil 3:4-11. He considers all his past, good, religious deeds as "rubbish ...

1754. By Enduring

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... through hell, keep going." Nurses copied it and shared it with other patients. I have given it to countless other fellow suffers, and it still hangs on our refrigerator at home. The message is clear. Hell is no place to get off the bus and give up! Perseverance is the wisdom to know that no trouble enjoys everlasting life. Peter applies that principle to family life. The scoop is this. Some women had converted to Christianity which was unheard of in the 1st century Asia Minor. You see, men back then not ...

1755. You Do Have a Prayer - Sermon Opener

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

James W. Moore

... problems that hinder people, that burden people, that disturb people… and keep them away from the Christian faith. One of the barriers he listed was…"unanswered prayer." It does seem to be a fact of our experience that many people do get discouraged and they do give up and drop out on the faith because they feel a sense of failure in their prayer life. This leads us to ask then… "How do you pray?" "Why pray at all?" "When do you pray?" "Is there a special formula or a sacred language that should ...

1756. A Little Substitute

Illustration

Staff

... bad habit can result in significant weight loss over a period of one year. If you just substitute high calorie offenders for similar tasting, lower calorie choices, the weight loss can still be significant. Give up one teaspoon of cream in your coffee and lose 6 pounds a year, or switch to a similar amount of skim milk and lose 5 pounds. Give up a glazed donut a day and lose 25 pounds a year, or switch to a medium sized bran muffin and lose 11 pounds in a year. Skipping a teaspoon of butter on a daily ...

1757. The Whole World

Illustration

Richard A. Hasler

... high altar is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. My point was illustrated graphically. "We have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, 'I give up, Lord; here's my life. I give you my world, the whole world."

1758. Quittin' Meetings

Illustration

Sam Jones was a preacher who held revival services, which he called "quittin' meetings." His preaching was directed primarily to Christians, and he urged them to give up the sinful practices in their lives. Sam's messages were very effective, and many people promised to quit swearing, drinking, smoking, lying, gossiping, or anything else that was displeasing to the Lord. On one occasion Jones asked a woman, "Just what is it that you're quittin'?" She replied, "I' ...

1759. Perot's Presents

Illustration

Staff

... charity was possible, officials explained, while American bombers were devastating Vietnamese villages. The wealthy Perot offered to hire an American construction firm to help rebuild what Americans had knocked down. The government still wouldn't cooperate. Christmas drew near, and the packages were unsent. Refusing to give up, Perot finally took off in his chartered fleet and flew to Moscow, where his aides mailed the packages, one at a time, at the Moscow central post office. They were delivered intact.

1760. James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ” and “eupeithes”) or “gentleness” and “yielding.” The peace loving humility of true wisdom is acted out with a willingness to consider the needs of others, to take the back seat instead of the driver’s seat (or even to give up “shotgun”), in order to foster peace within the faith community. Offering “mercy” (see James 2:8 ff.) and goodness, impartiality and sincerity — all informed by divinely–gifted wisdom, rounds out James’ definition of one who lives according to that true ...

1761. Philemon 1:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... who provide our clothes and entertainment live outside our homes, often half a world away. Paul’s request of Philemon was tantamount to asking his friend and co-worker (“koinoinia”) to contribute his home, or half his livelihood, or to give up his “car” (transportation amenities), because Paul said so. Giving freedom to a slave, a valued and valuable “property,” was no small favor. “Manumission” was a major overhaul. In Paul’s time slavery was never good, but it wasn’t always the ...

1762. Repentance to Bring Blessing

Hosea 14:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... that inevitable end in the oracles that have gone before. The plagues of death and the destruction of Sheol must come upon his people in the judgment decreed by God upon their sin (see the comment at 13:14). But Hosea has also announced that God cannot give up his people—his adopted son—forever (11:1–11); that on the other side of the judgment God will take Israel—his beloved wife—once more into the desert and there woo her again until she is betrothed to him in faithfulness to her covenant bond ...

1763. Woe to David’s City

Isaiah 29:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... people take some notice. Isaiah has little hope of that, but it is never over until it is over. Sometimes people change their minds and come to new insight because they see the force of some other way of looking at things, and in the light of that give up the old way. Sometimes (like Paul) they have to be shaken to their senses. 29:15–16 The Hebrew Bible begins a new section with this “Oh” saying. It speaks of yet another kind of people (or the same people during the week)—people who think they can ...

1764. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 49:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... of the prophet’s ministry. This helps to clarify how the two tasks in verses 5–6 relate to one another. The word “also” in verse 6 is an interpretation on the part of NIV, but a plausible one. Yahweh is not saying that the servant prophet is to give up the first task in favor of the second. At least this is not what happens, for chapters 49–55 continue to seek to bring the community back to God. Nor are the two tasks separate and independent ones. Yahweh enables the prophet to see more clearly the ...

1765. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Evil remains subtle and can rob us of what God desires if we give ourselves to things that are worthless and wasteful. What sorts of books or magazines do we read or movies do we watch? Does the humor we enjoy honor Christ? Do our words tear down ...

1766. The Cost of Being a Disciple

Luke 14:25-35

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... and verbal parallels to these Lucan passages (so Evans, pp. 47–48; see commentary on 14:15–24 above). The main point of the section is that the would-be follower of Jesus had better count the cost carefully and, according to v. 33, be willing to give up everything. As with most of Luke 14 already considered, this section is for the most part unique to Luke. Only a few verses are found in Matthew and so presumably were derived from the sayings source (Luke 14:26a=Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:27=Matt. 10 ...

1767. The Awesome Power of FUD

John 21:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... people, but I was only six years old. I got tired of drawing stick figures, so I just used lines. As much as I wanted to defend myself, I didn’t. I was too overwhelmed by the teacher’s criticism. On that day, I decided to give up drawing boats. In fact, I decided never again to submit my drawings to public scrutiny. Please don’t misunderstand. I do not blame the teacher. She was young and inexperienced. Obviously she needed more teacher college lessons on being sensitive to the feelings of children ...

1768. Praying Hands

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

Edward G. Hunter

... work as an artist, for he (Durer) made enough for both of them to live. But his older friend had found that his fingers had become too sore (from the hard work he had been doing to make a living). He was unable to paint anymore, so he had to give up his desire to become an artist. One day when Durer returned home he thought he heard the voice of his friend in prayer in another room. He quietly opened the door and saw him praying at a table with his hands folded in prayer, like this (show the picture or ...

1769. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

... accused each other of being fixated either on "good works" or on "grace alone." Putting too much stress on our "works" seems to leave God out of the picture, while emphasizing "salvation by grace alone" seems to render us so passive (some argue) that we give up caring what mere mortals think, believe, or do. The correct "fixation," of course, is to be aware of the paradoxical sense in which we are both passively dependant on God's grace and actively co-workers with God in making this world and our lives ...

To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.

Alan Paton

As long as the Earth can make a spring every year, I can. As long as the Earth can flower and produce nurturing fruit, I can, because I'm the Earth. I won't give up until the Earth gives up.

Alice Walker

Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.

John Wooden

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.

Ross Perot

1774. Who Are You Following?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Roy Howard

... to be over. Can I get back to the normal life where I am in control, the one where I get to be the leader? Our normal way is to hold on to the things that we want, while Jesus, our leader, takes us on a path that requires giving up what we want for the sake of what God wants for our lives. Discovering what God desires and orienting our lives in that direction is the way of the cross. It will likely mean personal sacrifice, inconvenience, and vulnerability. Sören Kierkegaard once said that there are more ...

1775. Bloom Where You Are Planted

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... him ever amounting to anything much. Like Loehe, they may have found him to be pushy, overly-idealistic, rash, and totally unrealistic. We can only be thankful he didn’t stay in Nazareth. We can only be thankful ministry pioneers in our day don’t give up and quit. We can only be thankful that many people in this congregation today, perhaps also you, have decided to bloom where they’re planted, and to become instruments of God. That’s hopeful for our shared future. God always prospers the work of the ...

Showing results

Showing 1751 to 1775 of 4938 results

1751. Exuberant and Full of Joy

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

1752. Listening for the "Ching-ching"

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

1753. Don’t Look Back

Luke 9:57-62

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

1754. By Enduring

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

1755. You Do Have a Prayer - Sermon Opener

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

James W. Moore

1756. A Little Substitute

Illustration

Staff

1757. The Whole World

Illustration

Richard A. Hasler

1758. Quittin' Meetings

Illustration

1759. Perot's Presents

Illustration

Staff

1760. James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1761. Philemon 1:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1762. Repentance to Bring Blessing

Hosea 14:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

1763. Woe to David’s City

Isaiah 29:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

1764. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 49:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

1765. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

1766. The Cost of Being a Disciple

Luke 14:25-35

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

1767. The Awesome Power of FUD

John 21:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

1768. Praying Hands

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

Edward G. Hunter

1769. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.

Alan Paton

As long as the Earth can make a spring every year, I can. As long as the Earth can flower and produce nurturing fruit, I can, because I'm the Earth. I won't give up until the Earth gives up.

Alice Walker

Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.

John Wooden

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.

Ross Perot

1774. Who Are You Following?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Roy Howard

1775. Bloom Where You Are Planted

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

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