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 2151 to 2175 of 4963 results

2151. Life in the Sunbelt

Malachi 4:1-6

Sermon

... a rope to the terrorized man and drew him to safety. It could have described how, after the rescue, the poor fellow was taken to the master’s home, where his wounds were dressed, food and fresh clothing were given him, and he was invited to remain as long as he wished. Such an ending would have been in far greater conformity with Christian faith. God’s challenging message to us, then, through Malachi and Jesus, is a double-barrelled one. It is a challenge to maintain faith and hope, no matter how ...

2152. Don't Try So Hard!

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

... Bible is true, infallible, and absolutely God's Word? Synods and churches can try too hard to establish these basic items of faith. In the church's attempt to maintain the Bible as God's Word in a "doubting" generation, many persons have remained unimpressed. Even worse, folks within the Church have been turned off by a heavy-handed Word. Others have been estranged from the Church through ecclesiastical leaders who have appointed themselves as the keepers of the truth of God's Word. All along these church ...

2153. Joined by Jesus

Hebrews 9:15

Children's Sermon

Object: Two pieces of clothesline rope about 10" long and knots that have been tied and the ends cut off so that only the knots remain. There should be enough knots for all the children. Good morning, boys and girls. Do you know what Sunday this is? It’s Passion Sunday and to you it means that we are drawing closer and closer to what day? (Let them answer Easter). That’s right, but before we ...

2154. In God's Own Time

Galatians 1:12

Children's Sermon

... there, but until that cloth is removed, you don’t know what it is. This is the way an artist gets ready to show everyone his painting or that a man who makes things out of clay or metal keeps it hidden until he wants people to see it. It remains hidden until just the right time and then, when the artist chooses to let people know what he has done, he takes off the cloth. This is somewhat the way in which God speaks to men or works for men. I want you to know that God knows what he ...

2155. The Day of Pentecost

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

... all. Later, he witnessed the persecution of the believers, and still later, the imprisonment of the apostles. Each time, he went about telling of what he had witnessed. In other words, he studied the drama of the Cross, and the history of the disciples, but remained only a hearer - not a doer. This is a sin which easily besets us all, whether ancient Israelite or modern Christian. As Halford Luccock reports, "We see its infection in the words of a minister who said testily when a bothersome call came over ...

2156. Proper 4

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... didn't want him to go. They gathered around him and urged him to become their king. They pleaded with him, begged him, but still he refused. Finally, they threatened him by taking him to the top of a cliff. There, they gave him the choice of either remaining as their king or being pushed over the cliff to fall to his death. "I have heard the Voice," Abraham said, "and I must go." So they shoved him over the precipice, but Abraham drifted to the ground and landed on his feet. According to the legend, where ...

2157. Proper 7

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

... of view is severely shaken, as through an illness, a catastrophe, or a personal crisis like Jacob was facing. It is interesting and significant that, in his dream, Jacob did not climb the ladder. Only the angels ascended and descended that stairway. Jacob remained a passive observer of his own dream. Nevertheless, in that dream he received great assurance. God essentially answered his thoughts. Jacob felt lonesome, so the Lord said, "I will be with you." Jacob feared Esau, so he was assured, "I will keep ...

2158. Proper 8

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

... Esau was still violently angry with him and attacked and destroyed one company, at least the other would still be safe. Strangely, Jacob made no preparations to insure his own safety. Having seen to the safety of his family, Jacob then settled down to remain alone and vulnerable throughout the night. Why this solitary watch? Was he trying to prepare himself for his encounter with Esau? Was he seeking to come to some special relationship with God? We don't know. Earlier chapters have already shown us Jacob ...

2159. In Turning to God

John 18:1-11

Bulletin Aid

... James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and also Philip, and Matthew, the tax collector, and Simon. And here also is Thomas, called the Twin, with Bartholomew and young Andrew. And alongside of them is James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus. Only two other disciples remain, and both of these men are seated beside one another. The first is Peter, and the second is Judas. And these two men are more like each other than we can possibly imagine: Both men have been called by Christ. Both have been with Our Lord ...

2160. A Criminal, A Cross, and the Christ

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Thomas C. Short

... well. The buyer was glad to see Etaus and to do business with him. Obviously, he thought that Etaus was helping his father by handling some of his skins for him. With money in hand, the thieves waited some time before trying to sell the remaining skins. When they thought the time was right, Etaus went to another dealer and tried to make the sale. This time he was not so fortunate, and the dealer asked many questions. Because word had been circulated about the stolen skins, this dealer was very cautious ...

2161. Seek Good, Not Evil (That You May Live)

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

... and rightly so, will not let us forget the hungry, the starving, the poor, the oppressed, the disenfranchised. Television has helped us see, if not realize, our intricate interrelationship. Television will not let us escape each other, try as we may. The struggle to remain alive is a fierce drive in all of us. Elie Wiesel, the noted chronicler of the Holocaust, records vividly a concentration camp incident - a son’s beating and clawing his own father to death for a crust of bread, only then to die himself ...

2162. To Thank Is To ...

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

... rest as we please," the common thinking runs. In truth there is no such thing as "God’s share" or "my share." There is only God’s. Whether the funds feed the poor or buy me a double dip, chocolate mint ice cream sugar cone, the funds remain God’s. The few moments funds are in my hands doesn’t change that. There’s a fierce kind of scriptural logic about that. "For we brought nothing into this world and we certainly shall carry nothing out." When Nelson Rockerfeller’s daughter saw her father in ...

2163. The Second Sunday in Lent

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... their physical needs for bread. Here is no sensationalist attracting converts by clever advertising and cute tricks. Here is no opportunist willing to accommodate any philosophy for the sake of a following. Here is a Son who seeks to live in obedience to a loving Father, and to remain in the communion of prayer in order to know God's will. Someone greater than Moses is here. Now a new word is added. "Listen to him." The Word has become flesh and dwells among us. Where can we go but to him who has the words ...

2164. The Sixth Sunday of Easter

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... in local churches, the weight of male theological opinion questions seriously the validity of her call. There are, after all, lots of things to do in the church if she really wants to be of service; she doesn't have to be ordained. So she remains discontentedly content with being an ecclesiastical Cinderella. While few voices are raised with the assurance, "We will not leave you an orphan." And on the hospital bed in the isolation ward is the young man with AIDS. It's hard even to find hospital staff ...

2165. He Can Quench All Your Thirsts

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." But in another sense, of course, Hagar failed miserably. His son had a need for something very specific and Hagar only gave him words. The boy may have been wiser and stronger for this encounter, but his boat remained outside the bottle. Practical help vs. spiritual help - that's also an issue for those seeking God. It's an issue in the Bible. We see the contrast between the Old Testament lesson for this morning and our Gospel. God, in the early books of the Bible ...

2166. They Crucified Our Lord

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... and rejected of men." Or is it these people dare not look at the cross, so upsetting is the sight? On the cross, the physical pain was so great the victims always were drugged. But Jesus refuses the pain-killing wine mingled with myrrh. He wishes to remain alert, and stoically endures. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth." So the cross takes its full toll. Could you bear to witness as blood oozes out of the wounds festering in the mid-eastern sun? As the flies swarm about ...

2167. Why Look To Heaven?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

... if he was about to restore the Kingdom of Israel. The disciples wanted this dreamed-of land where Christ so obviously reigned, where there were no problems, everyone lived in comfort, and God protected the righteous. But Christ said, No, they have to remain in the world. Then, as they stood huddled together, came the great shock. Christ disappeared into a cloud. As the disciples, like lost children, stood gawking into the air, an angel appeared and said: "Why look to heaven?" At the Ascension, the disciples ...

2168. A Moment of Brightness

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... each is portrayed as talking with Jesus. Both Old Testament figures have an air of mystery about their departure from this life. No one knew Moses’ burial place. Elijah was taken into God’s presence in the fiery chariot. But it is Jesus who remains the central figure in the Transfiguration. Concerning his death there is to be no mystical shroud. His death is coming, and it is indeed public! His resurrection is the central theme of the entire New Testament, toward which all else points - including his ...

2169. Parable of the Quarrelsome Child

Matthew 5:9

Illustration

Staff

... . Certainly there are principles worth fighting for, but individuals that are always quarrelsome and nations that are torn by strife are going against the principles of man and God and are most likely to be destroyed. And even when destruction does not come, there remains a misery in existence that is far from really living. Love brings understanding, patience, and promotes peace having the highest goals for the well-being and happiness of all. To be sitting in a corner all alone day after day at odds with ...

2170. Authority Through Servanthood

Matthew 20:20-28, Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... right to look to your pastors for honesty about sin, sincere confession of it, and a firm grasp of the Gospel in making new beginnings day by day. In these times of pain for the whole church, let me tell you of a minister whose authority remains rock-solid because of her continuing servanthood. A Radiant Servant, with Authority I think of a woman whose ministry is concentrated on the people dying of AIDS in our city. She is quiet in her manner, but fearless in her daily rounds of prayer, counsel, medical ...

2171. The Resurrection of the Body

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... neglect, but because death’s grip is so relentless! The bravest human expressions of immortality have never been written when facing a corpse. Unless an undertaker labors long and hard in his craft over me, even my dearest loved ones cannot bear to look at my remains once death has come. Such is the devastation that sin causes as we face the fact of death. When Benefits May Become Detours In our day and culture, when so many remarkable gifts of God are at hand to enrich and prolong our life, we may ...

2172. The Friday We Call Good

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... the lights finally go out, and we pray in total darkness, the single candle left upon the altar is briefly removed. Thus we visualize without words, in darkness, our awareness of the reason why Jesus suffered death. But the candle returns. There it still remains on the altar. In the silence of the coming moment, let that lighted candle tell you the good news. It speaks of death conquered and sin forgiven. It speaks of resurrection, of Easter, of the victory of God - at such an enormously great cost. Times ...

2173. The Miracle Of an Opened Mind

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... of the Bible. Worldwide fundamentalism is constantly making this mistake. The Bible is used to support apartheid, to condone bloody governmental coups, to pit Catholic and Protestant against each other, to justify one economic class above another. But all this happens because minds remain closed to Christ. In spite of all the pious talk about the Bible, if it is closed to Christ and his redeeming love, it is closed indeed. Too often in our time the illusion is spread that people who quote the Bible are ...

2174. Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... In such experiences many people question whether they have a need for God. But ultimately life gives the answer. Whatever the experience, when it comes, we have choices. We can be stubborn and resistant. We can insist that we can handle it ourselves, and thus remain in our frustration, our confusion, our wilderness, claiming there is no exit, no way out. Or, in faith, we can acknowledge our need, and believe there is someone greater than we who is able to help. "Behold I will stand before you," God said to ...

2175. Loosed from the Pangs of Death

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... in life is cut off from its source, it dies. There are beautifully manicured cemeteries called gardens. In some there is music being played softly and peacefully from the speakers in the trees. There is a peace and a beauty about that. There is one reality that remains, however, and that is the certainty of human death. Many times I have asked families of persons who were dying if I could talk to them about the reality of what was happening in their lives and I have been denied. It was not because the ...

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