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 2001 to 2025 of 4943 results

2001. Virtue Won’t Hurt You

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... injected a fungus. The apple was placed on a little pedestal surrounded by posters narrating the progression of the fungus. There it sat, a huge shiny, red apple with a little fungus growing on one side of it. As our class marched by the other exhibits, my mind continued to focus on that huge red apple. Finally I could take it no more. My best friend, Melvin, and I drew away from the group and hurried back to the apple exhibit. As we stood there, he nudged me and I nudged him. We stood there summoning our ...

2002. Forgiving Is Forgetting

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... ’s Prayer and even in Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness from the cross. The common man or woman shares the power of God in being able to forgive others. So often we emphasize being saved as coming solely from the grace of God after our own confession. Yet Jesus continually stressed the fact that a man who cannot forgive his brother is not saved. One day the great Apostle Peter was finding it hard to live among a certain group of people. He ran up to Jesus and asked if seven times was enough to forgive his ...

2003. Cross-Bearing

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... it took so much of the engine’s steam that the boat dropped backwards. The self-seeking life is the self-defeating life, and though the fasting and prayer of Christian life are aimed at others, they also represent the only avenue to spiritual freedom and continuing growth. Luke adds one word to this command that is not in Matthew’s Gospel, "Let him take up his cross daily." The very important element of cross-bearing and sacrifice is not one or two dramatic sacrifices in our own life, but rather a whole ...

2004. Being Set Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... study his Scripture, we listen for his voice before we make our decisions. To be a disciple means to completely immerse ourselves in the word, so when we decide those issues of life, it becomes our second nature to do what Christ’s disciple would do. We must also continue to grow in our understanding of Jesus. If we are to be a disciple, we must keep on expanding our spiritual knowledge. That means to be free is to be a real disciple; to be a real disciple is to learn and study him and his Scripture. When ...

2005. Embalmed Leaders

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... , having extended generous aid, political and financial, the United States is the most vilified nation on the globe, simply because it proffered aid." He illustrates this by developments in Indonesia and Latin American and in Europe. Why, then, does the Foreign Aid Program continue and even expand again? The major part of the answer is the bureaucracy which has been built up under it. There are thousands of people engaged in the distribution of Foreign Aid, and their jobs depend upon it. No program in the ...

2006. The Embalmed Come Alive

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... circle without some help. It was the Holy Spirit and his power that built this church. This congregation lived and grew in spite of us, not because of us, and it will be the Holy Spirit that, through the coming decades and centuries, if God wills, will continue to build St. John’s. Let me give you just a little vignette of the power of the Holy Spirit. Why is it, in the midst of a recession, with the specter of inflation, unemployment, a truly shaky economy facing us at every turn, that stewardship-wise ...

2007. Paul Today

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... man upstairs" is a kindly grandfather who looks through his fingers at our peccadilloes is more prevalent than we like to think. Paul was keenly aware of the possibility of such antinomian perversion of the doctrine of grace. His answer to the question, "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" was a horrified "God forbid!" and he went on to portray the newness of life in grace in terms comparable only to the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Romans 6:1-3). Paul’s analogy of dying and rising ...

2008. Minute Accounting

Matthew 12:22-37

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

... on the minors by concentrating on keeping inappropriate careless words from slipping out of one’s mouth? We can understand why we should have to do some accounting for our speech, but is this not going too far? It leaves us no leeway at all. It puts us under the continual responsibility of guarding our speech. There surely ought to be some time when we could take our guard down and not have to be careful of our speech. Is it really fair for us to have to give an account in the judgment even of our idle or ...

2009. Ghosts - 1951

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... and by the best of us. Once possessed, it is the most transforming and empowering idea imaginable. It makes us new men, new women. We are born again - into newness of life. Why don’t we accept it, believe it, test it, prove it? Why do we continue to live in bondage, snared by our sins, tortured by fear, frustration, and a fateful sense of futility? Why do we hate, suspect, exploit, despise, and kill each other? There isn’t any reason. Such behavior is admittedly irrational. But there is the ghost of a ...

2010. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... , "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were" (3:4). Apparently these people, bored with waiting, have concluded that the interim is all there’ll ever be. They seem to hold the ... view that because things have "continued as they were," they will always do that. These people seem to reason that since the Lord has not come, therefore, he won ...

2011. A Faith for the Uncharted Way

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... it is the trail of uncertainty, insecurity, and peril. Playwright Thornton Wilder gives us this line: "We walk on a thin edge of danger." The Old Testament psalmist was aware of this: "I am a stranger and a sojourner as all my fathers were" (Psalm 39:12); "My soul is continually in my hand" (Psalm 119:109); "I walk in the midst of trouble" (Psalm 138:7); "My soul is among lions" (Psalm 57:4). Most of us know this, and we know it well. We know something of what is meant in Amos 5:19 where it is said that ...

2012. Name Above Every Name

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... to quote her favorite verse. As strength failed, she was able to utter the words only in a whisper: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." As strength continued to decline, words at the beginning and the ending were gradually dropped, and she was saying something like "... Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free ..." As the final hours approached, even this was shortened, until she was whispering, "... life in Christ Jesus ..." And finally ...

2013. We are Not Simply "Now" People

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Illustration

Jon L. Joyce

... renew (remember) our vertical relationship to God, a relationship that is, by its nature, deeply rooted in the Judaeo-Christian tradition and the whole history of salvation. We need to remember that we are not simply "now" people, but are, basically, a continuing part of a history that is founded in and rooted in a vertical relationship to God who chose us. Hence, that entire history from Creation on down through the Old and New Testaments and the history of the Church is a part of our "now" story ...

2014. Moving Fences

2 Corinthians 5:16-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Indian leader, who is now near death. The Hindu pleads with him to end his long fast. Gandhi reaffirms that he will end his fast only when the Hindus and Muslims stop fighting. The Hindu, with hatred for the Muslims burning in his eyes, says he will continue fighting. To justify his resolve he tells how Muslims took his little boy and killed him by crushing his skull. He in turn captured a Muslim boy and killed him in the same way. Then he added sorrowfully, "I have been living in hell." Gandhi reflects on ...

2015. Saints With Crooked Haloes

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ." And to David's everlasting credit, he did not offer one excuse. He declared humbly, "I have sinned against the Lord." Immediately, Nathan responded, "The Lord has also put away your sin; you shall not die." There was a penalty to be paid for that sin, but God continued to use David in spectacular ways. In fact, The Bible calls David "a man after God's own heart." This same David was an ancestor of our Lord Jesus. Truly, he was a saint with a crooked halo. Years ago when I was entering the ministry, I ...

2016. Glorious Surprises

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the next 24 hours I want to be empowered and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Equip me with needed resources and put me to your tasks. Fill me to overflowing with your Spirit." God's glorious responses to that simple request, made on a continuing basis, have revolutionized my spiritual life. In the beautiful mountain area above Greenville, South Carolina, is an open-air chapel called "Pretty Place." Hundreds of couples have been married there. From that spot one can see many miles of blue-ridged peaks. At the ...

2017. Last Ditch Stand

Drama

Sarah Walton Miller

... to be reasonable] John, you can’t make a rule like that. JOHN: I can. I have. Now. NANCY: [hurt, embarrassed] Think of Rod! JOHN: I am. Believe me, Rodney, I am! ROD: [ill at ease] Dr. Whitney, I appreciate your concern, but - JOHN: Do you? Then if you continue to see Nancy, you’ll have to stop smoking. NANCY: You’re lust picking on Rod! Some of your friends smoke! JOHN: I know. They will all be told they aren’t welcome anymore unless they stop smoking. HELEN: John, you can’t do that! JOHN: Yes, I ...

2018. MR. CAIN

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... conversation, the kind brothers are supposed to have. And he spoke to me about religion. Because he is ... JAREL WAS CAIN WAS a very religious man. He spoke to God as a friend. And apparently God heard him. So Abel claimed. At least he was continuously giving thanks. Continuously. Without ceasing. And I told him: "You are an offense to me, a stink!" And he prayed my forgiveness. And I told him to move away, to leave me alone. And he said it was not right that brothers should be apart. And next I thought ...

2019. Chapter I

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... relationship that was to exist was laid down in a concise and far-reaching formula, "You shall be my people and I shall be your God." On his part, the Lord would do all that a deity should. He would watch over his people, supply their needs, and show continual concern for the direction of their lives. His covenant partners, in turn, were to respond to him in a way befitting their love for their God. They would love him, respect him, serve him and obey him. In a word, they would be as faithful to God as he ...

2020. Chapter VI

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... drive to dominate, to become first, is an old one! It drove Cain to turn the earth red with the blood of Abel, his brother. That blow set a shock wave in motion that has never stopped! In the desire to have things our way, we have learned through a continuing stream of evidence, some men will go to any lengths. They will lie, cheat, steal, and finally kill to get what they want. Often we will try all of the more subtle ways we know to rise to a place where the reins controlling life, or even one small part ...

2021. MAGICIAN, SORCERER

Micah 5:12; Acts 8:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... They sought to summon good or evil spirits and to raise up the spirits of the dead. They experimented with astrology and gazed into crystal balls to divine what was in store for their noble patrons. And today, astrologers, palmists, crystalgazers and clairvoyants continue to reveal the future to eager customers. This type of magic is called natural because no supernatural claims to power are ever made in connection with it. In fact, the magicians who perform it are, as a rule, the most outspoken skeptics on ...

2022. PRIEST

Deut. 26:4

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... early priests was to reveal the word of God, either by reference to a legal code which contained the revealed will of God and the accumulated experience of the past. Even after the people settled and sancturies were built, the role of the priest continued to be more of a judge than the person we think of as offering sacrifice. However, as more and more sanctuaries appeared and the Hebrews absorbed more of the ways of their neighbors, and, ultimately, with the establishment of the monarchy, a more and more ...

2023. The Witness of the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." God's word assures it, and the spirit confirms it. What difference does the witness of ... major insurance company. She did not understand how life insurance worked. Very sadly she said to the clerk, "I'm afraid I can't continue to pay the premiums on my husband's life insurance policy. He has been dead for six months now, and I just can't ...

2024. How to Fix the Past

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... are sinners. We have a terminal spiritual virus. Jesus Christ is the only cure. LET’S ASK A SECOND QUESTION: WHAT IF I THROW MYSELF ON THE MERCY OF THE COURT? As long as I refuse to confess my sin or continue to rationalize it and make excuses for it, God cannot touch it. That sin continues to send poison throughout my spiritual system. It makes me feel bad about myself, and separates me from other people and from God. But the moment I dare to agree with God’s indictment of me, then God is faithful and ...

2025. One’s Proper Service

Isaiah 58:1-14

Illustration

Larry Powell

... B.C. Unfortunately, the Jews mistook this particular gesture as a guarantee of spiritual righteousness; a kind of "automatic purification" which placed them blameless before God. Consequently, it was inconceivable to them that hardships would continue following their dedicated "service." When hardships would continue, they felt an explanation was in order: "Why have we fasted and thou seest it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and thou takest no knowledge of it" (58:3). Listen to God’s answer: "Behold ...

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