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 2076 to 2100 of 4933 results

2076. Empowered By A Vision

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

If your mother taught you to say only nice things about other people, Jacob will push you to the outer limits of your imagination. This younger of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah has few redeeming qualities. He takes advantage of every available weakness in others. The older twin, Esau, must have had the common sense of a fence post. On two different occasions, Jacob cheats him of his birthright. Jacob's father Isaac was old, blind and on his death bed when Jacob exploits the situation to benefit ...

2077. Wisdom In A Proverb

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

What is a proverb? It is a short, popular saying, usually of unknown or ancient origin, that expresses some commonplace truth or useful thought. What is a proverb? It is a pithy saying characterized by "its shortness, its sense, its salt." What is a proverb? It is an adage, easily remembered, that forms either an observation or a judgment. What is a proverb? It is a maxim that expresses simply and concretely a truth based on common sense and human experience. Many of our grandmothers had more proverbs up ...

2078. The Compassionate Highway

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Two bits of the gospel story are put together for today's lectionary lesson from Mark. First (6:30-34), the disciples have been out in the neighborhood, teaching the words that Jesus had taught them and doing the good deeds that they had seen him do. You remember that, after his rejection in Nazareth, he commissioned his close followers to be his messengers to the world. Now they have returned to Jesus with reports of their work. I suppose we might even say, in today's images, that the sales force is back ...

2079. The March Of Death

John 14:1-4

Eulogy

Merlin L. Conrad

When I was in seminary there was a picture hanging in our library that I will never forget. I have long since forgotten who the artist might have been, but the message was indelible. It was titled "The March of Death" and pictured death marching through the throngs of humanity calling, at will, whom he chose. He called the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the well and the infirmed. There was something else in that picture I remember and that is that there were those kneeling by the roadside, ...

2080. "The Rejection Of Royalty"

Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

The language in this passage is remarkably restrained.There is no attempt in it to create sympathy for Jesus.There is no attempt to incite hatred toward those responsible for the actual crucifixion itself.This is an event far too solemn for that sort of thing.The facts are stated and left to stand for themselves.There is no additional comment of any kind.In a passage where the language is so carefully chosen the reader must go through it slowly and thoughtfully.Otherwise we might miss what is being said. ...

2081. Where Does That Leave Us?

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Where does this Scripture leave us? Jesus compares the fig tree with the Day of Judgment. The fig tree’s leaves, sun s darkening, the moon giving no light, and the stars falling -- all are signs of the final day of the Lord. Then it is that the Son of man comes in clouds with great power and glory, and he sends out angels to gather in the elect. Many denominations spend a great deal of energy trying to figure out, “Is it the time yet?” Intense diligence goes into collating Scripture with wars and natural ...

2082. Breakfast in Galilee

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Robert Allen

I do not usually eat a big breakfast. Most of the time I just have a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast and a glass of juice. A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, we were out of milk, so I just headed off toward the church. On the way, I decided to go to a restaurant, grab a bite to eat and look over my sermon notes before church services. When the waitress came to take my order, I ordered the cereal, toast and juice. The waitress smiled and said, "Dr. Allen, that puny little breakfast won't get you ...

2083. God, The Enemy

Luke 12:1-12

Sermon

This week began with the execution of Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. A USA Today poll taken in April of this year showed that 81 percent of Americans wanted McVeigh to be executed -- and 28 percent of that support was from people who are normally against the death penalty. No matter where you stand on the issue of capital punishment, this particular execution has forced itself on our consciousness. One thing that particularly caught my ...

2084. Judgment and Justice

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

Israel was always getting into trouble with God, especially when it came to their worship of him. One would think the nation would have learned its lesson for all time when it made and worshiped the golden calf during its trek from Egypt to the Promised Land. Not so, for over and over again, they allowed their religious rites to become corrupt, especially by developing all sorts of ceremonies meant to please God while, outside the Temple, they lived rather secularly oriented lives. Apparently, their ...

2085. Merry Kurtzman

Sermon

Erskine White

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a wee, small country the rest of the world had never heard of called Cornucopia. It was a beautiful little country with sparkling cities and quaint rural towns, lush, rolling hills and rich farmland fed by streams of the cleanest water you ever saw. It was a prosperous country as well, where even the poorest of Cornucopians felt blessed with "the good life" and considered themselves better off than most other people in the world. People sometimes ...

2086. No Huggies

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

This preacher recognizes how crucial are the beginning moments of a sermon. If listening does not happen at this moment of high anticipation, there will often be little opportunity for hoping that listeners will still be listening when the "goodies" are passed out. The preacher makes us look at the text beyond the first superficial reading. Scholarship does what it is supposed to do for preaching: illuminate. Humor is present. "Why should the snake have all the good lines?" someone quipped. The humor grows ...

2087. It's Time to Get Up

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

We could all use good news right now and I have Good News for you: God has a resurrection for you! He wants to bring you out into the light again. He wants to bring you out of that tomb of oppression and give you a new start. And listen! He has the power to do it. He can bring you back to life. This powerful story in John 11 speaks to this. Remember it with me. Mary and Martha who live in Bethany are some of Jesus’ closest friends. They send word to him that their brother, whose name is Lazarus, is ...

2088. The Ultimate Success Formula

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus would turn over in his grave, if he were in his grave -- which, of course, he is not. However, I want to suggest to you this morning that the ultimate formula for worldly success is found in a portion of his words in Mark 8:34, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." In a secular sense that text alone would guarantee any person's success in the wonderful world of business or art or education or sports or whatever career you may choose. After all, ...

2089. Living Smart

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

John Claypool, in one of his sermons, tells a parable about a young man who was applying for a job. As a part of the application process, the young man had to take an aptitude test. He arrived at the appointed time, was given instructions about the test, and then was ushered into the testing room. Immediately, though, the young man became enamored with the utensils at his disposal: he straightened the paper on the desk, sharpened his pencils and shined his chair. In fact, he became so engrossed in the ...

2090. I'm O.k.; You're A Little Suspect

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Tim Storey tells a great story about how easy it is to rush to pass judgement on others. Tim pulled up in front of his neighborhood barber shop and parked. As he fished around for his wallet, he felt the sickening crunch of metal hitting metal. Somebody hit his car! What an idiot! But when he jumped out to look, Tim didn't see anyone. As he was muttering under his breath about stupid drivers, a little old lady came out of the barber shop and announced, “I saw the whole thing." Turns out, he was the ...

2091. The Story behind the Glory

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

Welcome to the Sunday after Christmas! Tell me, has the glory begun to fade? A pastor recently described his shopping experience at one of the busy malls. He watched a small boy put his hand hopefully on an inexpensive Christ-child on a counter. "What is this?" he asked his mother, who had him by the hand. "C'mon," the hurried woman answered, "you don't want that." She dragged him grimly away, her mind dark with gift thoughts, following a star of her own devising. Strange, isn't it, the way the story ...

2092. God, the Enemy

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Do you remember when Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, was executed? As the time of his execution drew near, McVeigh gave a handwritten statement to the warden, intending it to take the place of any verbal comment. In that statement, McVeigh quoted a section of the poem "Invictus," which is Latin for "unconquered." That poem, by nineteenth-century British poet William Ernest Henley (18491903), reads, in part, "I am the master of my fate: I am the ...

2093. The Day of the Lord

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Sometime between 500 and 350 B.C., post-exilic Israel experienced a devastating locust plague, followed by a drought. That experience is described in Joel chapter 1. And certainly the people suffered under the dreadful effects of those disasters. But the message of the prophet Joel — prompted not by the natural disasters, but given him as a revelation from the Lord — is that the Israelites face a still more terrible disaster if they do not repent and return to their God. “The day of the Lord is coming, it ...

2094. Such a Transformation!

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

For centuries, the Christian Church has regarded this fourth Servant Song in Second Isaiah as a prophecy that foretells the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Certainly the New Testament uses portions of it in connection with our Lord (cf. John 12:38; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Peter 2:24-25, et al.). And yet a great air of mystery surrounds this passage. Who finally is the servant? Why has he been the object of shame and suffering all of his life? Why was he judged and killed? How did others ...

2095. A Man on the Run

Jonah 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the all-time classic novels and movies, as you well know, is Gone with the Wind. You may not know, however, that the original story had more than just a kernel of truth in it. There was a Rhett Butler, but his real name was Rhett Turnipseed. Scarlet O'Hara was Emelyn Louise Hannon. In fact, Rhett did walk out on her and joined the Confederate Army. When the war was over, Rhett Turnipseed became a drifter and gambler. He ended up in Nashville, where his life was turned around on Easter morning in ...

2096. It Isn't Fair! - Sermon Starter

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Brett Blair

One day a rich young ruler came enthusiastically running up to Jesus and asked: "What must I do to be saved?" Jesus answered: Keep the law. "This I have done from my youth up," came the reply. Yet one thing do you lack said Jesus. Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Then come follow me. We are told that the young man walked away sorrowfully, for he had great wealth. Concluded the Master: It will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. The disciples had been watching the ...

2097. Perceiving the Presence of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Three sisters lived in the forest. The oldest was named Bean Plant, the middle sister was named Marigold, and the youngest was called Lily. It was summer; the weather was beautiful and all who lived in the forest were happy and gay. The two older sisters thought themselves to be rather important. Bean Plant attracted lots of attention through the lush and rich beans which she produced so abundantly. All the squirrels, rabbits, and other animals came and ate their meals at Bean Plant's house. Bean Plant was ...

2098. Write to the Heart

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

A four-year-old girl was at the pediatrician's office for a checkup. As the doctor looked into her ears, he asked, "Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl didn't answer. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl was silent. Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heartbeat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?" "Oh, no!" the ...

2099. Not My Jesus!

Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

Mike Ripski

I. “The story you are about to hear….” Remember Sgt. Joe Friday is? Jack Webb? “Dragnet” – the first crime drama on television back when the TV screen was round and the colors black and white? Each show opened with these words: “The story you are about to see is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” This morning the story you are about to see is true; the names have not been changed to protect the guilty. Christians don’t believe guilt is bad. Guilt is to our soul as fever is to our ...

2100. Lent 4

Joshua 5:1-12, Psalm 32:1-11, Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 32 First Lesson—Gilgal becomes a memorable place for the former slaves who can celebrate the Passover outside the land of their prior captivity. Joshua 5:9-12 Second Lesson—Jesus the non-sinner is made to be sin in order that we sinners might be reconciled to God and become Christian representatives of the new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Gospel—The parables of Jesus are purposeful in answering the complaints of his critics. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of ...

Showing results