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 176 to 200 of 2404 results

176. Amazing Grace

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

... trying to act like he didn't know what to do in church; he didn't know what to do in church. Do any of you high achievers and parent pleasers know what that's like? I'm not just referring to the fact that this is Parent's Sunday so for some of you ... 't much care for this story. We keep wanting Jesus to say, ''I've come to gather the good, to reward the righteous. All you high spiritual achievers get in line over at the Chapel." Yet what Jesus says is, ''I've come to seek and to save the lost. I've come to call ...

177. Rule Breakers

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... , contempt, lust, self-centeredness, and sin hurt those who are made in the image of God. I read a great quote from Pastor Bill Coffin on God’s love for humanity. He preached, “God’s love does not seek value; it creates it. Our value is a gift, not an achievement. It is not because we have value that we are loved, it is because we are loved that we have value.” (3) Think about that for a moment. “It is not because we have value that we are loved, it is because we are loved that we have value ...

178. Count the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ago upon the prospect of a U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, "There's nothing worth dying for." Which means that, in the end, she shall have the unhappy task of dying for nothing. You're going to pay. Someday you'll have to let go of it all--relatives, possessions, achievements. Everybody pays in the end. But what will we get for what we've paid? "Take up your cross and follow me," says Jesus. The one who says these words is on the way to his own taking up the cross, to his own death. In other words, this ...

179.

Psalm 127:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... . It is impossible to say whether or not these proverbs had a life of their own before their combination here. But whether the psalm is an act of authorship or editing, it has certainly become more than the sum of its parts. A unity is achieved—whether by an author or editor—by several threads. Both sections share the distinctive theme of Yahweh’s hidden, though decisive, involvement in house and home. In the Hebrew text, there is a wordplay between the “builders” (Hb. bônāyw) in the first half ...

180. To Us a Child is Born

Isaiah 9:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... righteousness (see on 1:21) and a bringer of peace (see on v. 6b below), one who will bring a fulfillment of the vision underlying chapters 1–8 as a whole. Yet that also means that the promises go far beyond anything that any king ever achieved, or even sought. They are “messianic.” The basis for conviction that the vision will be fulfilled lies in the son’s name (v. 6b). Hebrew names of the kind that we have already met in Isaiah, such as Isaiah, Uzziah, Hezekiah, Shear-Jashub, MaherShalal-Hash-Baz ...

181. For Someone Who Played a Background Role In a Successful Life

Mark 1:1-8 · John 1:6-9

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... a spotlight in history, but if they ever do, it will be because of Helen Moran. Helen was a Dorothy Wordsworth, a Fanny Stillwell, a Theo van Gogh kind of person. She never occupied the spotlight. She wasn’t someone who commanded much attention. She never achieved a great deal in terms of personal wealth or prestige. She was a background type of person, a behind the scenes kind of individual. She, in a very quiet and unassuming way, nurtured the good and helped unravel the gifts and talents of each and ...

182. Living A Triumphant Life

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... need for God and their confidence that God will provide. The secular world watches us and stands all too ready and willing to mock us. Our faith needs courage and resiliency. It needs the strength and power that can only come from God. If God is going to achieve great things through God's people today, we too need to display dedication and effort. A friend of mine recently relocated with his family to a new city. They struggled to make a decision as they sought God's will for their move. One of the dilemmas ...

183. Let Us Make A Name For Ourselves

Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

... off a plane, and they know you. And they not only know you ... you're like a god to them." Burt Reynolds knew what it was like to be No. 1. He knew what it was like to be "like a god" to people. He had achieved a great name for himself. But, as with any achievement we make as humans, it can be taken from us in an instant. Being "like a god" to people never lasts. The gods always come crashing down. So did Burt Reynolds. And he was miserable. "You're going to find yourself so unhappy after you ...

184. Take Up Your Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... and earned and apparently courts and wants in its frantic efforts to save itself. But no matter how hard people try on their own they are bound to forfeit life. What Jesus announces and offers is that people do not have to suffer this fate. In him they can achieve a destiny that links them with eternity. Guaranteed -- No Loss It is most obvious that what Jesus says is true when he says, "Those who want to save their life will lose it." We can all see that in many ways. The person who is the most industrious ...

185. No Box Seats In The Kingdom

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

William G. Carter

... baptism? I don't know. I do know if we want to follow Jesus, we must rethink what it means to be the church, especially in a culture that worships success. The kind of church God wants is not a church that bows down before stature, power, or worldly achievement. No, it's the kind of church that sets people free to serve God, every day, in the places where God sends them. We need a church that produces people who are servants just like Jesus. A few years ago, Joel Gregory became the pastor of First Baptist ...

186. All Stirred Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Richard Patt

... of stress in our lives. Right! Let's not make the six-letter word "stress" a four-letter word. Stress needn't be all negative. A lot of it can be positive, producing the good kind of adrenaline that opens the road to abundant creativity and achievement. And who doesn't enjoy achieving? For most of us it's a need we love to fulfill. That's the way it could have been for Martha. But she forgot who it was she had invited! The honored guest was not some cold, egotistical citizen who needed to be impressed. This ...

187. A New Kingdom Coming

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... -- spiritual and physical. Very few people are expert in anything all by themselves. They need a supporting community. Do you know a good musician who was not trained, nurtured and sustained by the music community? Show me an athlete who achieves excellence all alone, apart from the athletic community. Very few wise men become so without the accumulated wisdom of the centuries as expressed in colleges and universities and libraries. Medical people are more like ensembles and symphonies than soloists. What ...

188. The Spirit Of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... The goal here is for each believer to clear oneself of all external restraints and worries so that the Holy Spirit may come in, take up residency in the human soul, and transport the believer into higher realms of spiritual consciousness and expression. This is achieved by opening the door to the Spirit and permitting it to come in and use the person to reach a previously unrealized domain of spiritual consciousness. So in the first group, the Spirit is controlled by the person's capacity to reach a certain ...

189. Miracle Six: Stilling A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... across a period of time. We cannot avoid many of life's troubles, but we can get ready for them by encouraging our growth in faith, by trusting in God's wisdom, in his plan for us, in his presence in every time of trouble. There are ways to achieve this, and those ways must be utilized before trouble strikes. Now is the time to encourage our growth in faith. Our faith must be nourished if it is to see us through any and all difficulties. Jesus Cares · When we stop to think who Jesus is, it becomes amazing ...

190. Miracle Nine: Healing A Deaf-Mute

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... of the methods so employed are short-lived and result in failure. A study of new members who join churches has revealed that the vast majority of them were moved to join a church because someone invited them. This is by far the best method of achieving results. The personal invitation is the most effective tool of evangelism. Whom have you invited to your church? Are we letting Christ down, and are we unmoved by the decline in church membership? What do we think of the steady rise and growth of cults and ...

191. What It Takes To Be A Winner

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

... time for everything. God, in his time, will take care of it. Then he says, "While you wait, you appropriate the future." The future response and answer becomes strength for life now. Faith is not a means by which you achieve victory but living by faith, hopeful waiting, is the victory itself. Victory is achieved when we understand God's timing and live with hopeful waiting. Do you ever get up in the morning, look at your calendar and know the wind is in your face even before you put on your shoes? Do you ...

192. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Christians

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

William L. Self

... Sunday Bible study and prayer, but the modern mind rebels. We want a surface cleansing; we don't want to change our souls. In the words of Thoreau, "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root."2 We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior and get to work on the roots, the understandings from which our attitudes and behaviors flow.3 We too must wash in the old river Jordan. We affirm that washing in ...

193. Expecting the Unexpected

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... keenly felt in trying to follow the instruction than in figuring it out. Still, I suppose it's best to be honest and admit that there are some passages which place a burden on our ability just to accept them. It isn't a question of comprehension or achievement. The problem is not one of lacking explanations or even examples. The difficulty lies in the truth that, when you get right down to it, we simply don't like the text. And that is the case, at least for me, with this unsettling account from the fourth ...

194. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... brisk air, football, changing leaves, last minute cookouts, and harvesting. It's also the time for the same old "stuff." Some things remain oblivious to the calendar. Drugs continue to be sold on our streets. Prejudice continues to dominate our emotions and our wills. We still use war to achieve peace. Many of our brothers and sisters still can't read, can't work, can't sleep inside, can't eat one warm meal a day. We turn to you, not only to ask you to erase our problems but to assure us that our effort and ...

195. A Cultural Breakthrough

Acts 16:6-10

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... to get into a place of safety, warmth, and hospitality. Isn't that a basic need of us all? Second, though faced with some barriers, he continued to search for ways to achieve the breakthrough he sought. Third, though he found himself locked in he didn't resign himself to failure but found a way to achieve his goal. The community of Christ desperately needs cultural breakthroughs that can model to society God's ultimate plan of redemption for all humankind. The breaking down of traditions, old habits, fear ...

196. Moving At The Speed Of Light: At The Jordan

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... to enter the kingdom of God. Who is rich and who is poor? Have you ever been rich and felt poor, or made your greatest achievement and not been able to celebrate? Or accomplished exactly what you set out to do and wondered if you had done the right thing? Lee Atwater planned ... and executed George Bush's 1988 presidential victory. He grew up with two burning goals which he desired to achieve before age 35: to be Chairman of the Republican National Party and to manage a presidential campaign successfully. He ...

197. A Homecoming To Remember

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... father David expanded the empire, Solomon built buildings and even whole cities where there once was only desert. He began an extensive building program unlike any the people had ever experienced. No doubt Solomon's greatest achievement was building the Temple. The Temple would be his crowning achievement. People would remember him for generations to come as the builder of the magnificent Temple. There had been talk of building a temple to the glory of God for quite some time. The Israelites believed that ...

198. The More I Understand, The Less I Know

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... was ask one of my homiletics professors. Today, I’m not so sure they knew all that much. Why does a sermon "work", why does it achieve positive results, when by all rights it ought to fall on its face and die? And why does a sermon not work when it has all ... all, from SOUTHERN Galilee. We misunderstand the meaning just as Nicodemus did (maybe even more so). We are a nation of high achievers, do-it-yourselfers, pragmatics. What do we have to DO? Is there a technique that produces the best results? Is there a ...

199. Proper 17

Luke 14:1-14, Psalm 81:1-16

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... sins, accept the invitation to the place of honor as one of God's children, and citizens of the heavenly city. Prayer of the Day God above all, help us to receive such honors as come to us with modesty, and to be sincere in honoring the achievements of others in the Spirit of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Prayer of Thanksgiving God of strength and compassion: we rejoice in the downfall of the wicked and the humiliation of the haughty. We exult in the raising up of the fallen and the release of the prisoner ...

200. Proper 9

Luke 10:1-24

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Love To Tell The Story Proper 9 -- Pentecost 7 -- OT 14 Yes, Lord, The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. We hear this as an invitation to become involved in building up your kingdom. Surely though, you realize our situation. We have schedules to keep and goals to achieve. There never seems to be enough time and our resources are limited. You continually remind us that people are longing to hear the Good News. However, we have schedules to keep and goals to ...

Showing results