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 2226 to 2250 of 4943 results

2226. Egypt: Unlikely Refuge

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

If you plan a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Jesus, you probably will not include Egypt in your itinerary. What does Egypt have to do with Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River, and the Sea of Galilee? Egypt is exciting as the land of the pyramids and the Sphinx, but we don’t instinctively think of it as part of our Master’s story. But it belongs to his story, in a strange and wonderful way. You’ll find it in the Gospel of Matthew. When the wise men came looking for Jesus, they stopped in Jerusalem to seek ...

2227. We Wish To See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

"Sir, we wish to see Jesus." That is the request that we heard at the beginning of the biblical reading for this message. The inquiry came from the Greeks. That is a fascinating detail. John’s Gospel is filled with a variety of groups of people. There are the Jews and the Pharisees and the disciples, for example. These groups appear many times in John’s Gospel. Not so the Greeks. This is their one and only appearance in John’s Gospel. Their appearance is surprising in a way. What are Greeks doing in ...

2228. Movin’ Around Room

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

We know that if an arm is tied down to the body for a long period of time, when the binding is removed, the arm is unusable. The muscles have begun to waste away until the arm is in a state of atrophy. A recent event in our community attracted wide news coverage. Someone had tied a young dog to a tree by a ten-inch leash. The act outraged people. With ten inches for movin’ around, the dog was doomed to death in a short period. To stay alive, the body with all its parts needs movin’ around room. Yet, there ...

2229. This Is Water

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Ron Lavin

What comes to your mind when you think about water? The seashore? A beautiful lake? Swimming? Fishing? A cool drink on a scorching day? If we could ask Helen Keller that question, she would probably say, "a water pump," because it was at a pump that this blind and deaf woman learned that things have names. "W-A-T-E-R," her teacher, Anne Sullivan, spelled into her hand for what seemed like the millionth time. "The thing has a name - W-A-T-E-R." And young Helen sprung to life, understanding for the first ...

2230. Family Feud

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An old story. A classic car lover was perusing the classifieds and saw an ad that seemed impossible to believe. A 1966 candy-apple red Corvette, a dream car, and offered for $100. What? $100...for a classic? No way, José. Was it a wreck? Or maybe the price was a misprint. Still, he had to find out, so he called. A woman answered the phone and assured him that the car was in excellent shape and that there was no mistake about the price. He dashed over. To his delight the car proved to be everything the ...

2231. The Prod of the Past

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"You shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance." or as the King James has it, "You shall observe it as an ordinance forever." The establishment of the Passover, one of the most important of all Jewish festivals. And they HAVE observed it forever. Every year since, and down to our own day, Jewish families have gathered at the traditional Seder meal. The patriarch of the household asks the children, "What makes this night different than all other nights?" The youngsters respond with the Exodus story of God's ...

2232. The Lord's Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you been watching the Olympics? I have...some. I am a sports fan. And even though these winter events do not have the same appeal for me as some others, I still watch. I am glad that Dan Jansen finally won a medal. After so many tries, on his last ever attempt, he came through. Strange, isn't it - here is a man who is recognized in speed skating as the best sprinter in the world, but just because he had never won an Olympic medal, people asked, "What's wrong with Dan?" Just three weeks ago, the most ...

2233. When You Are Anxious About Many Things

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed how people differ? Some people can focus on only one thing at a time. Others are not happy unless they have several projects going at the same time. Then there are some people who are so focused it's scary. I chuckled when I read Lawrence A. Keating's description of something that happened during the 1946 Oklahoma-Army football game. Oklahoma coach Jim Tatum paced the sidelines frantically as the Army team took a 21-7 lead over his Sooners. Nearby sat punter Charlie Sarratt, his ...

2234. Are You Successful Or Do You Just Have Money?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Bill was a writer, a really good writer. As a matter of fact, the whole country knew his name ” although they did not know him as "Bill." Editors competed to get Bill's stories. He was not one of those struggling young writers who couldn't get a break. In fact, editors paid top dollar competing for Bill's work. Bill seemed to have it made. He had money, he had fame, and he was superb at what he did. One more thing. Bill's stories usually had a bit of mystery about them. He was famous for the little twist ...

2235. What Makes A Family?

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

It was shocking and hard to believe when one of Hollywood's most handsome and athletic stars, Christopher Reeve, suffered an accident that paralyzed him from the neck down. In one tragic moment, a single centimeter in the wrong direction, he was left a quadriplegic. Ironically, during those years when he was living in a wheelchair, most of us still associated him with his most famous role, that of SUPERMAN. In an interview years after the accident, Christopher Reeve and his wife, Dana, talked about the ...

2236. Time To Do Something About The Piano

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Once there was a small jazz club in New Orleans. In a corner of that club sat an old dilapidated piano. All of the jazz artists complained about this antiquated instrument. The piano players dreaded playing on it. The vocalists dreaded singing with it. And all of the combos that played the club wished that they could bring in their own piano ” just like they could a saxophone or a trumpet. Finally, after years of listening to these jazz musicians complain about his piano, the owner of the club decided to ...

2237. What Are You Sitting On?

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Fulghum tells about meeting a young American traveler in the airport in Hong Kong. She was tensely occupying a chair next to his. Her backpack bore the scars and dirt of some hard traveling. It bulged with mysterious souvenirs of seeing the world. When the tears began to drip from her chin, he imagined some lost love or the sorrow of giving up adventure for college classes. But then she began to sob ” a veritable flood of tears. She was not quite ready to go home, she said. She had run out of money ...

2238. Getting The Proper Nourishment

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

Since we are talking about getting the proper nourishment, today, I thought I would share with you eight dieting tips that I picked up recently. Tip 1: If no one sees you eat it, it has no calories. Tip 2: If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, they will cancel each other out. Tip 3: Calories don't count if you eat with someone and you both eat the same amount. Tip 4: Food taken for medicinal purposes does not count. This includes toast, hot chocolate, and Sara Lee chocolate cake. Tip 5: If you fatten ...

2239. Grumblers Among God's People

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

At a certain popular resort there are hot springs and cold springs side by side. Local people washed clothes in the hot spring and then rinsed them in the cold. A tourist, watching the procedure, said to one of the natives, "How bountiful of nature to supply these springs." "Not so bountiful," said the native. "You'll notice there's no soap." A new pastor was full of enthusiasm on his first Sunday. He mentioned the thrill of accepting the call of the congregation, particularly since it had been a unanimous ...

2240. Hey, You Can Only Be Young Twice!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Nicodemus was probably an old man when he came to Jesus. He was confronted with the reality of a body that was no longer as vigorous as it once was. He was also conscious of dreams that would never be fulfilled. It's not easy to age, is it? Even middle-age is disconcerting to some of us. Someone has made a list of the Top Ten Ways You Can Tell if You're Middle-Aged. 10. You rank the invention of remote control TV right up there with the discovery of fire, the invention of the light bulb, and elastic ...

2241. Setting An Example

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Arthur Ashe was a world-class tennis player and a world-class father. He believed in leading by example. “My wife and I talk about this with our six-year-old daughter," Ashe said in an interview just before his death. “Children are much more impressed by what they see you do than by what you say," he said. “Children at that age certainly keep you honest. If you have been preaching one thing all along and all of a sudden you don't do it, they're going to bring it right up in your face. “I tell her it's not ...

2242. A Visit To Millennium Manor

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, in the town of Alcoa there is a very unusual stone house called Millennium Manor. The house was built over a nine-year period from June 1937 to December 1946, by William Andrew Nicholson and his wife Fair. The Manor was built using Roman architecture. This was important because it was built to last a thousand years--thus the name Millennium Manor. The Nicholsons did all the work on the house themselves, without the aid of machines, a remarkable feat, since both were small ...

2243. Who Am I Supposed To Hate?

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Jesus said . . . What? Outrageous Teachings, No. 2 Barbara Bennett of Vancouver, Washington, wanted to sell an old Brothers' sewing machine. So she took out an ad in her local paper's classified section. But when the ad appeared, it read simply "Brother for sale" instead. Worse yet, the ad appeared in the "Items under $50" section. There were actually a couple of calls inquiring about the ad. One wanted to haggle over the price. The other caller hung up when he or she learned that there was not a ...

2244. On Living Before You Die

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

The NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS published recently several pages listing accounts with unclaimed money in them. As impossible as it seems, hundreds of people or their families forget the bank is holding money for them in their name. When men and women give their lives to God, many then lose faith in the Creator. They don''t use the treasure He has for them. Our orientation gets mixed up. We aim our lives in the wrong direction. Charlie Brown in the PEANUTS cartoon comes to the kitchen one morning in his PJ''s ...

2245. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I have always felt sorry for Lazarus. I mean, dying once is bad enough; but this poor fellow had to go through the whole ordeal a second time! And for what? At first glance, it seems as though he was recalled to this earth for the mere purpose of fortifying his sister’s faith. Then he would have to go through the process of dying once again. We are all familiar with the story. Jesus receives the news while He is in Perea that His friend Lazarus is ill. He says, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I ...

2246. Knight of the Woeful Countenance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In the musical play: “Man of La Mancha” there is a scene where the addled Don Quixote asks the innkeeper to dub him a knight so that he may ride forth to do battle with the forces of evil. The innkeeper, after trying to persuade the would-be knight of his foolishness, finally agrees to go along with his fantasy. But Don Quixote isn’t content. He says to the innkeeper: “It is customary to grant the new knight an added name. If Your Lordship could devise such a name for me....” The Innkeeper ponders awhile ...

2247. The Lord's Prayer: Deliver us from Evil

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Dr. Tony Campolo is a Professor of Sociology at Eastern College and a Baptist Minister whose prophetic speaking and writing ministry is a great source of encouragement to this pastor and many others. Dr. Campolo also has a well-known mission project that works in the inner cities of Philadelphia and Camden. Last year 250 college students worked without pay to help bring the Good News to a place where days are long and full of evil and laborers are desperately needed to share the Good News. One of the ...

2248. Worry Wart or Winning Warrior

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I like the story about the two mountain boys who spotted a bobcat up a tree and decided to have some fun. One said, "I''ll shinny up that tree and chase him down, and you put him in a cage." The other agreed, and the first fellow climbed up the tree. When he reached the right limb, he started shaking, and the cat came tumbling down. The other fellow grabbed the varmint by the back of the neck and tried to put him into a cage. There was a terrible commotion. Dust and fur and skin were flying in all ...

2249. When the Storms Come

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people was preparing to have a "hurricane party" in the face of a storm named Camille. Police chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark at the posh Richelieu Apartments. Facing the beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger. A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved at the police chief. Peralta yelled up, "You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. ...

2250. Waiting for God

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy had been staying at his grandparents’ house for several days. Now he was waiting for his mom and dad to pick him up. The homesick boy sat in the old swivel rocker all morning, staring and staring out the picture window. From that window, he could see down the long, gravel road. He was watching for that telltale cloud of dust that would signal the approach of the family car. After a couple of hours of this, his grandfather came by and said in mock exasperation, “Doggone it, Bill, you’re gonna ...

Showing results