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 2251 to 2275 of 4934 results

2251. Thanks for Their Gifts

Philippians 4:10-20

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Paul’s Sufficiency Paul now comes to one of his main reasons for writing. If this note (4:10–20) was an integral part of the main letter, he has reserved it to the end to give it prominence—his expression of thanks for the gift that Epaphroditus had brought him from the Philippian church. 4:10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord, meaning “I gave joyful thanks to the Lord” (when I received your gift). Paul is grateful to the Philippian Christians for the gift they have sent, but his rejoicing arises chiefly from ...

2252. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Christians who consider themselves mature must be careful not to confuse trust in God’s grace with self-reliance. Rather than putting God’s forgiveness to the test, they should focus on passing God’s test, which will reveal that their primary and most trusted relationship is with him. Understanding the Text The key verse in this unit is verse 12: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Using an example from the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul compares the self-confidence ...

2253. Meet Israel’s New King

1 Sam 9:1–10:8

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: Even when his people’s faith falls short of his expectations, the Lord remains faithful and makes provision for their deliverance. Understanding the Text Israel demanded to have a king like the nations that lived around them (1 Sam. 8). They wanted a leader who would ensure national security (8:19–20) through an army and alliances. Despite how they may have viewed this request, the Lord regarded it as a rejection of his authority (8:7): it showed that the people were not willing to demonstrate ...

2254. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God’s overpowering strength plus his overpowering love not only saves us but provides a life of joy. Understanding the Text This psalm belongs to the broad genre of royal psalms. Like Psalm 20, Craigie calls it a royal liturgy,[1] which suggests that it was used in worship. It is as if we are standing outside the temple and hearing the voices of worship, and we have a vague idea of what is going on inside the building as we try to picture the action in our mind’s eye. The question that the form ...

2255. How to Escape Being Possessed By Our Possessions

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere along the way I saw a cartoon of an elderly man of obvious wealth on a canopied death bed, surrounded by servants, family members, lawyers, and all sorts of “hangers-on”. It was quite clear why most of the people had gathered there, but now the old gentleman is sitting up with his arms folded and a very determined look on his face. One bystander says to another, “Someone just told him he couldn’t take it with him, and so he says he isn’t going.” We chuckle at that. It’s a caricature that is not ...

2256. Claiming Hope

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

"Hope" is one of the most beautiful words in the English language. It evokes thoughts of sunrises that push back all kinds of darkness. It suggests birth and healing and promise and possibility. Hope makes us able to keep on going, or if we have fallen to get up and try again. Hope is a gift that our faith can give to us that will indeed meet the need of our hungry hearts. Hope is the essence of the Christian faith. The good news is that hope is there for us. But most of us have yet to learn to discover it ...

2257. Elephants in the Room: Anxiety

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I’ll never forget the first day of a golf tournament I played in a couple of years ago. It was at Mangrove Bay and it was my first real competitive tournament. It turned out to be a memorable day but not in the way you might think. I arrived at the course early, all geared up for the round. I hit a few practice balls and putts and was feeling really good about my game. It was a shotgun start and my foursome’s first hole was on the back nine. My partner and I rode out to the hole. We spoke about what a ...

2258. A Word to the Wealthy

Mark 10:17-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Andreas Schroeder tells about a poor farm boy from Iowa named Oscar Hartzell who in 1913 devised a scheme for separating a good many people from their life savings. He cooked up the idea of contacting everyone in the United States with the last name of Drake. He told them he’d made an astonishing discovery: due to a bureaucratic bungle, the estate of the famous British pirate Sir Francis Drake had never been paid out to his heirs. It had just been sitting there for over 300 years, gathering interest ...

2259. Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

There is something exciting about someone finding a previously undiscovered treasure. Last week we told about a U.S. Air Force veteran who bought a Rolex watch that turned out to be an astounding investment. Works of art can do the same thing. In September of last year, a French woman took an old painting to an auction house to determine its worth. Previously, the woman had the painting hanging in her kitchen over a hotplate. However, an art evaluator visiting her home recognized the old painting and urged ...

2260. The Angel's Message

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

In our lesson for today the angel Gabriel makes an announcement to the virgin Mary that will change the world forever. But before we get to that, I ran across some thoughts on the Internet that children have expressed about angels. I thought you would enjoy them this close to Christmas: “I only know the names of two angels,” says Gregory, age 5. “Hark and Harold.” “Everybody’s got it all wrong,” says Olive, age 9. “Angels don’t wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.” “It’s not ...

2261. Revolutionary Rules For Living

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Author Bob Welch observed that in Les Miserables that the uprising that Victor Hugo observed occurred in June, 1832 as a small Parisian insurrection that lasted only a short time. It was more of a street riot with a tragic outcome. Quoting Hugo, Welch said that the uprising was a defiance against the royalist government of France as a reaction to three problems of the day. First it was a defiance of man by the exploitation of his labor. Second, it was in opposition of the ruination of women by starvation ...

2262. Love In Action

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Will Willimon

''And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor'..." Baptist prophet Will Campbell, a man who is always an uncomfortable guest, was asked to be a visiting preacher for a series at New York's Riverside Church on "What Riverside Church Can Do To Help the Future of Race Relations in America." Here is a church with impressively activist preachers and the right sort of forward thinking congregation. Campbell took as his text Mark's story ...

2263. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

Imagine a family member receiving a late night phone call, in which the caller ID reads, “County Corrections.” A close loved one is being held in custody due to an arrest of being intoxicated either on an alcoholic or opioid drug influence while driving their motor vehicle. The loved one needs the family member to immediately call them a lawyer and drive down to the county corrections facility. This is like being unexpectedly ambushed at night from a person whom we least expect to be acting like this. This ...

2264. God Is Like...Bread

Joel 2:23-30 · John 6:25-35

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

How does one speak of God? Humankind has been trying to do that ever since it first discovered language. To speak of God is to attempt the impossible. Human language is inadequate to express what our minds and spirits can only dimly comprehend. But still we must try to speak of God. We must. Otherwise, we can never be fully human, all that we are meant to be. We try to speak of God, the divine mystery. And because God is mystery, we should not be surprised if our attempts to speak of this mystery often ...

2265. The Day Of Thanksgiving

Mt 6:25-33 · 1 Tim 2:1-7 · Joel 2:21-27 · Ps 126

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Joel 2:21-27 The first part of this chapter (vv. 1-17) is the traditional text for Ash Wednesday. These verses call the people to a solemn assembly so that they might repent of their sins and plead for Yahweh's mercy. This action is ordered because of a devastating invasion of locusts. Our lection for Thanksgiving follows the call to repentance with a message of hope and restoration. God will restore the land to fertility; the earth will yield its increase and the people of God will ...

2266. To Be Sure

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

I am always impressed with the litany-like phrases Martin Luther uses in The Small Catechism as petition by petition he explains the Lord's Prayer: To be sure, God's name is holy itself ...To be sure, the kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayers ...To be sure, the good and gracious will of God is done without our prayer ...To be sure, God provides daily bread, even to the wicked, without our prayer ...1 To be sure, to be sure, to be sure! God's gifts come to us despite our unfaithfulness and ...

2267. Proper 21

Lk 16:19-31 · 1 Tim 6:6-19 · Joel 2:23-30 · Am 6:1-7

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Joel 2:23-30 After the plague of locusts Yahweh will bless the land with plenty and his spirit. Today's Lesson 1 is taken from the latest of the prophetic hooks written in the post-exilic period around 400-350 B.C. Judah experienced a plague of locusts accompanied by drought and famine. Joel calls upon the people to gather in Jerusalem to repent and pray for relief. Because the people obeyed, Joel assures them that Yahweh will give them plenty to make up for the years of drought. Never again ...

2268. A Matter of Life and Breath

John 20:19-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost I On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If ...

2269. Prayers That Work

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Father Barry Foster, a priest in Dublin, Ireland, parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little cairn terrier was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. "Stay!" he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. "Stay!" An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, "Why don't you just try putting on the ...

2270. When The Recession Reaches Your House

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. The recession is officially over according to experts in Washington. A lot of Americans are ...

2271. When The Economy Goes South

1 Kings 17:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. For the past decade we have experienced a time of unequaled prosperity in our land--but recent ...

2272. Gentle On My Mind (Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

I don't know of anyone that disputes the fact that John Wooden is the greatest basketball coach who has ever lived. His UCLA basketball teams won ten NCAA National Championships in twelve years, including seven in a row. In his book entitled Wooden, he begins with this story: My Dad, Joshua Wooden, was a strong man in one sense, but a gentle man. While he could lift heavy things men half his age couldn't lift, he would also read poetry to us each night after a day working in the fields raising corn, hay, ...

2273. Daily Homework

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

When I first started school, I wasn't like most kids in several respects. First of all, I actually started a year early, but I was always physically one year behind the rest of my class. I made up for being one of the smaller kids by focusing on academics. I really enjoyed reading and became a voracious reader and I had a burning passion to make good grades. For the most part, I liked my teachers. There was one type of teacher I absolutely could not stand. Believe it or not, it was not the strict ...

2274. The Perfect Gift

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

This is Christmas Eve and we want to talk about gifts. How do you give gifts? When you desire to give to your dearest one a gift you think would be most meaningful to him or her, or most appreciated, how do you go about searching and finding that gift? Or if you seek to make a gift that is reflective of who you are and what you are about, what do you give? When thoughtfully given, the best gifts do two things – on the one hand, they meet the needs and the taste of the person for whom the gift is intended. ...

2275. The Hopes and Dreams of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A little boy in a church Christmas program, only had one line to remember. He was the Angel of the Lord and his line was: "Behold, I bring you good tidings." After the rehearsal, he asked his mother what "tidings" meant. She told him that it meant "news". When the program was put on, the boy got a case of stage fright and couldn't remember his line. then all of a sudden the idea came back and he blurted out. "Hey! Boy, have I got news for you!" Let me read you a portion of that "Good News," a portion of ...

Showing results

Showing 2251 to 2275 of 4934 results

2251. Thanks for Their Gifts

Philippians 4:10-20

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

2252. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

2253. Meet Israel’s New King

1 Sam 9:1–10:8

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

2254. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

2255. How to Escape Being Possessed By Our Possessions

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

2256. Claiming Hope

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

2257. Elephants in the Room: Anxiety

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Charley Reeb

2258. A Word to the Wealthy

Mark 10:17-30

Sermon

King Duncan

2259. Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

2260. The Angel's Message

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

2261. Revolutionary Rules For Living

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

2262. Love In Action

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Will Willimon

2263. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

2264. God Is Like...Bread

Joel 2:23-30 · John 6:25-35

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

2265. The Day Of Thanksgiving

Mt 6:25-33 · 1 Tim 2:1-7 · Joel 2:21-27 · Ps 126

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

2266. To Be Sure

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

2267. Proper 21

Lk 16:19-31 · 1 Tim 6:6-19 · Joel 2:23-30 · Am 6:1-7

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

2268. A Matter of Life and Breath

John 20:19-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

2269. Prayers That Work

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

2270. When The Recession Reaches Your House

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

King Duncan

2271. When The Economy Goes South

1 Kings 17:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. For the past decade we have experienced a time of unequaled prosperity in our land--but recent ...

2272. Gentle On My Mind (Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

2273. Daily Homework

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

2274. The Perfect Gift

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

2275. The Hopes and Dreams of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Showing results