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 1801 to 1825 of 3926 results

1801. Christmas, Proper 3

John 1:1-18, Hebrews 1:1-14, Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... Word comes through human beings like us, whether prophets or a Son. Forgive our failure to hear you when you speak, and the many ways we go wrong as a result. Make us attentive to your self-revelation, that we may feel your creative, redemptive, and supportive presence, and live renewed and wholesome lives as a result. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Gospel: John 1:1-14 Theme: God’s Word in fullness and flesh Exegetical Note John’s reworking of this pre-Christian hymn implies an irony: although God’s ...

1802. Lent 1

Genesis 9:1-17, 1 Peter 3:8-22, Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:14-20

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Gracious and merciful God, we confess our tendency to sink and drown in your spiritual waters under the weight of our own wickedness and guilt rather than to trust the saving powers of those very waters to support us. Forgive us our misdirected faith, O God, and teach us to trust in you and your desire and power to rescue us by your grace. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen Gospel: Mark 1:9-15 Theme: Desert and devils, diversions and dangers in ...

1803. Lent 6

Isaiah 50:1-11, Mark 15:16-20, Mark 15:21-32, Philippians 2:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... in Holy Week. The prophet here tells of having to suffer resolutely indignation, anger, and physical abuse because of his own prophetic devotion to the often unpopular task of delivering the Word of God to them. He is nevertheless confident of God’s support and ultimate vindication of him. Call to Worship Leader: Rejoice, sisters and brothers, for our salvation is at hand! People: GOD BRINGS US STRENGTH AND VINDICATION THROUGH THE GIFT OF A SON! Leader: But our salvation does not come cheap: out of love ...

1804. Proper 14

2 Samuel 18:1-18, John 6:25-59, Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... by a series of declarations to the effect that it is God who provides the spiritual nourishment and who takes the initiative in drawing people to belief. Verses 45 and 46 do not teach a clear doctrine of predestination, but certainly can be used to support one, if only because, like the doctrine, they point to God’s sovereignty in the redemptive process. Call to Worship Leader: Listen, people: Jesus Christ is the living bread, which gives life to the world. People: THOSE WHO COME TO HIM WILL NOT HUNGER ...

1805. I Affirm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

... this: "I believe in God. I want most of all to thank Him that, through simple belief, you can be a winner - regardless of height, weight, reach, swing, or whatever ounce bat you carry." Here is a man who says: "I believe in God, the One who cares and who supports and guides," This man is joined by a great company of men throughout the ages. On a day like this we can say, "Be of good courage, I believe in the God who cares." II I believe in Jesus as savior and guide. It is easy to believe in Jesus ...

1806. The Forgotten Virtue

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... world on the outside of us looks and says, "If that’s the way it is, I want nothing of it." Oh, yes, we’re out to save the lost and condemned sinners, but only if they’re nice people, and they fit into our social strata, and they can support the church properly. We operate like some banks; we will loan money only to those who can first give evidence that they don’t need it. We can look down our noses at the thief, because in our fat affluence, we’ve never been tempted to steal. In our cold ...

1807. The Forgotten

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

... way. But with Joseph it is a different matter. When we forget him we have forgotten an essential part of the story of the birth and growth of the child Jesus. And to forget about Joseph is to overlook the story of a sensitive man chosen by God to support the virgin mother. A man chosen by God to protect the infant Jesus. A man chosen by God to guide and teach this special child the values and responsibilities of human life. If we forget Joseph, we forget a very human element in the story of Jesus’ birth ...

1808. THE WATCHERS

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

... destiny. This was the One whose birth the prophets had foretold and of whom the angels sang. Here was "The King of kings," "The Prince of Peace," the hope of the ages, God himself with humanity. In the narrative of this event Saint Luke places two supporting characters, Simeon and Anna. These two golden agers, who just happened to be at the Temple that particular day are the ones who capture our attention and our imagination for they are "The Watchers." Simeon, we are told, was a just man. He was honest and ...

1809. In The Shade Of An Awning

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... . They meant I gave lip service to tradition, but recognized where my bread was buttered. And the bearded fathers of the synagogue shook their heads at some of the things I did, but they also said, "He is a very busy man, and is so liberal in his support." It was a good mixture of business and social acceptance. But, despite my hard work to succeed, and despite my favored place now - I would gladly give it up - all of it - for another chance with Jesus. Is that strange to your ears? Does it seem like I ...

1810. Encountering The Family Man

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... . I’m a family man at heart. My boys mean more to me than anything in this world - or, they did. The family is important to me. I’d protect it at all costs. And in our way of life, education is the important ingredient - for this reason we support the synagogue and rabbi. No sons can amount to anything unless they have learning - unless they know the Law and the Prophets - the Law of Moses, and the voices of the Prophets. To be taught is important - and to be educated is to be godly. This was part of ...

1811. OUR LORD DENIED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

... he had almost burst out in protest to his Lord. But something hod cautioned him, held him back. Perhaps it was knowing that his Lord would rebuke him for his impatience, and he had skirted the real incident at issue. Instead he sought corroboration and support in a devious manner. "Lord," he had said, making it seem offhand, unimportant, a rhetorical question. "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" How self-righteous he had felt in the very asking of ...

1812. OUR LORD DELIVERED UP

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

... were a fortress. On the north was the Antonia, the praetorium of the Roman procurator, Pilate, rising higher than the temple building itself. The tops of the porticoes enclosing the temple gleamed in the moonlight and the whole was surrounded by heavy walls that supported impressive colonnades. The three men hastened down the slope into the deep shadows of the valley and when they reached the stairs leading to the main gate in Herod’s wall, Nicodemus took the steps two at a time. Through the portals of ...

1813. OUR LORD SMITTEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

... He was baffled when the prisoner refused the drugged wine. This was something he had never seen. He shrugged to his men and they stripped the victim of his clothing, pressing him onto the cross, his legs astraddle the peg driven into the upright to help support the weight of his body. The centurion turned away, hardly aware of the thump of the hammers as nails were driven through hands and feet. He handed the titulus to the executioner, instructing that it be fastened above the man’s head. While this was ...

1814. Reinforced With Joy

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... in control of this world and would live in the hearts of those who trusted in him. There is a well-known and true story about Martin Luther which we all need to remember. At the height of his greatness, Luther had not only loyal supporters, but bitter enemies as well. Persecution, lies, bitterness, and betrayals brought him into a prolonged mood of depression and despair. One morning his wife appeared at the breakfast table dressed in somber black. Luther looked at her with amazement and said, "Who is dead ...

1815. The Sheep And The Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Brett Blair

... time assisting and encouraging young people, especially the poor. At about eighteen years of age, he founded a Young Men's Christian Union. In 1859, at the age of 30, Dunant was traveling in northern Italy. He had only one object in view to get the support of the Emperor of France for a business project in Algeria. But the Emperor, Napoleon III, was busy driving the Austrians out of Northern Italy. Arriving on the day of the Battle of Solferino, Dunant could not believe what he saw. That day the French ...

1816. Prepare The Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Brett Blair

... reporter was conducting an in depth study of a Roman Catholic order of Nuns working in Paris. The hard bitten reporter, Pierre Giraud was convinced that the good works, the loving philanthropy, the apparent tenderness of these women was just a cover for obtaining financial support for their institution. He asked if he might accompany one of the Nuns during a typical day. She took him down some of the most dilapidated streets he had ever seen.. In the basement of one house was a man who was terminally ill ...

1817. Father -- Son

John 15:1-17

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... this Time. DAD: The real thing, eh? SCOTT: It's Lonnie, Dad. We really do love each other. DAD: It's true love this Time. SCOTT: Yes, it is. It really is true love. And I know what you're going to say: "You're too young. You can't support a wife yet." DAD: No, I wasn't going to say either of those things. But you said -- "wife." SCOTT: I sure did. Lonnie and I have decided to get married. We've worked it all out, Dad. She has a great job at the telephone company and I'll ...

1818. Moses

Mark 1:40-45

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... heads Time: Moses' Time Cast: MOSES ZIPPORAH -- his wife JETHRO -- her father BUSH GOD SHEEP ZIPPORAH: (ENTERS) Moses, you've got to get a job. You've been lying around this tent ever since you left Egypt. Don't forget you've got a wife and child to support now. MOSES: (AWAKENING) All right. All right. I'll ask your father if he's got something I can do. JETHRO: (ENTERS) Good morning. How's my new grandson? (ZIPPORAH NUDGES MOSES) MOSES: Oh, yeah, Dad, I've been thinking, is there any little job around the ...

1819. Astonishing!

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Jesus and he tells them, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” The difference was astonishing. All the other Rabbis got their authority from quoting the Scriptures and talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They referenced the Rabbis before them to support their positions. But Jesus! Here was something new. He was the authority. I am the door; I am the vine; I am the gate; I am the Good Shepherd; I am the light of the world. His teachings echoed with something new, something astonishing ...

1820. A Dreadful Declaration

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

George Bass

... I believe that Jesus is Lord." It means allowing our lives to reflect, in words and deeds, the validity of our confession of faith. In Bill C. Davis’ play, Mass Appeal,11 Father Tim Farley, in order to protect his position in his parish, has failed to support Deacon Mark Dolson, a seminarian who was in danger of being expelled from the seminary for what Father Farley calls an "irrelevant" reason out of his pre-seminary life. In the last scene of the play, after Mark has been given two weeks to leave the ...

1821. Confrontation in the Temple

John 2:12-25

Sermon

George Bass

... , and a strong military deterrent to nuclear war. Kahn’s critics insisted that he minimized the dangers of nuclear war and played into the hands of the militarists calling for more powerful weapons systems. Some claimed that his thinking, writing, and speeches merely supported the system when he ought to have been challenging it. Jesus could never be accused of such a sell-out in the scheme of things prevailing in the Temple. He shook the building - and the system - right down to the very foundations of ...

1822. The Terrible Tree

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

George Bass

... so that anyone passing that way could see his execution. Cecil Alexander aptly describes the scene: There is a green hill far away, Outside a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified ... The Romans did it, but the Jewish leaders put them up to it, supported by the crowd that chanted for a prisoner’s release: "Not this man, but Barabbas!" John says it was the chief priests and officers of the Jews who actually cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate did just that. Jesus posed no threat to the ...

1823. The Shepherd Who Loved His Sheep

John 10:1-21

Sermon

George Bass

... ’s why the mission of the church is so important. There are, indeed, "other sheep that are not of this fold" who, at Christ’s command, must be brought into it. And for this - especially through our prayers and our sharing of our lives and life-supporting finances - we participate in telling the Good Shepherd’s story to everyone able to hear it. And, in time, there will be one flock, one shepherd. 42. Published in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, July 5, 1983. 43. From an article by Al McConagha, "Ex ...

1824. The Vine That Lives Forever

John 15:1-17

Sermon

George Bass

... boldly and continually, "Christ is risen!" and "Lo, I am with you," and the writer got the message loudly and clearly in the face of death and the future of that particular family. It would go on - life, that is - in those sons and their children, supported and directed by the risen Lord. Antoine says that this continuation of life was "the slow progress of a tree’s growth, but it was also fulfillment.... This peasant mother had done more than transmit life, she had taught her sons a language, had handed ...

1825. Love - A Christian Imperative

John 15:1-17

Sermon

George Bass

... the hymn goes, "will know us by our love, by our love," because we "abide in love" - his love - and he, the resurrected and living Lord, "abides in us." Our deeds of love and mercy will tell the world that we belong to the Lord, and he will support us with his love, as his friends, until that last day when the trumpet will sound and the Lord will return to usher in the fullness of his kingdom in love and peace. 50. William C. Menninger, Living in a Troubled World. (Kansas City, Missouri: Hallmark Cards, Inc ...

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