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 4986 results

2251. How Much Is Enough?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... s not true. For example, in Eastern Asia, when you say "food," people automatically think of rice. In Malaysia, the same applies to sweet potatoes. For every culture there is a "staff of life." For most it's bread. It’s the basic thing you need to stay alive. But all these words – bread, rice, and sweet potatoes – can also refer to the emotional and spiritual basics that keep us alive. There are a few people without whose love and presence in my life, I would find it difficult, if not impossible, to ...

2252. Oh Me of Little Faith

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... me, that Matthew’s picture of the church is a lot more accurate than we would like to admit. The church, no longer the center of the social life of the community, seems more and more to be like a fragile boat struggling to stay afloat in a world filled with dangers and disappointments. Rural decline is forcing many people to leave small communities like Snow Creek. Sickness and death are invading congregations and diminishing membership in many rural churches. The number of people in the pews is dwindling ...

2253. Life on the Roller Coaster

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... you’re dead? You stop talking all that foolishness and let’s get on with the ride, only this time there won’t be any coming down. You talked me out of it last time, but this time we’re going all the way to the top and we’re staying there!" That’s when the roller coaster took an unexpected turn for Peter. Jesus looked him in the eyes, and right in front of everybody, this one Peter had left everything to follow said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are ...

2254. Reality Check

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... felt that they honestly understood what you were saying and why you felt the way you did. We call these "mountaintop experiences," and oh how we hate to come down off that mountain! We want to hang on to that moment for as long as we can. "Let’s just stay right here and let the rest of the world go by for a while," we say. But to freeze that one moment in time shuts off the possibility of the next moment. In the Gospel reading for today we hear the writer of Matthew give his version of the event ...

2255. I Hate To Rain On Your Parade, But

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... the dark. The only road from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday runs right through the middle of Good Friday. That road is not an easy road to walk. Those who don’t have the stomach for the journey, those who seek that ouch-less faith we talked about, will stay home from today until next Sunday, showing up just in time for the trumpets and the lilies and the hallelujah chorus. The rest of us better hang onto one another as tightly as we can as we tiptoe past the tombstones and stand together at the foot of the ...

2256. Use It or Lose It

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... saying exactly what they meant to say. But, as we can easily see, there was lots of room for misunderstanding in what they actually said. Jesus must have thought he was being perfectly clear also. In this section of Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus repeatedly warning, "Stay on your toes, now! Keep alert! You don’t know when the Master will come. You don’t know, I don’t know, NOBODY knows except God." In spite of the fact that these words, spoken by Jesus himself and written in red ink, are recorded in ...

2257. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress I'm wearing for breakfast. I'll get out the sled and drive this note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I'll be making. Hope my breakfast guests don't stay too long, I have 40,000 cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon. Love, Martha Stewart P.S. When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-inch gold gauze. I soaked the gauze in a mixture of white grapes and blackberries ...

2258. Lent

Sermon

Betty Lynn Schwab

... their Torah to each member of the congregation. This gesture symbolizes how each member must personally receive the Word of God into his/her own life and personally strive to live up to the Revelation. For centuries it has been a custom for Jewish people to stay up the whole night before Shavuot. During the night they study the Torah to show their commitment to God and their desire to receive God's commandments. Reader 1: As Christians, the words easily slip across our lips that Jesus is the Word of God and ...

2259. But I Don't Wanna!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Joann Hary

"I don't wanna." "I just don't want to ..." How many times have we responded to God in this way? Let's do some supposing for just a minute. Suppose Abraham had said, "No, God, I don't wanna do that ... I want to stay right where I am. I like it here. The soil is good and my family is happy. No, God, I don't want to be your Father of the Nations." Suppose Moses had said, "No, God, I don't want to help those people out of Egypt. They got themselves ...

2260. Hard Times May Drop In For A Visit

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Joann Hary

... him say, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." "Though hard times may drop in for a visit," Swindoll reminds us in his book, "they won't stay for long when they realize that faith got there first, and doesn't plan to leave." "In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity; in our doubt, there is believing; in our life, eternity. In our death, a resurrection, at the last, a victory. Unrevealed until ...

2261. Repentance - King David and Peter

Luke 22:54-62

Drama

Martha L. Leach

... sitting there. Are you alone? Peter: Yes, I am quite alone - more alone than I've ever felt before. David: My name is David. I'm on my way to Jerusalem. Would you care to walk along? Peter: I am Peter. I would appreciate the company, but I want to stay away from the city today. Besides, the authorities may be looking for me. My Master has been arrested. I am so ashamed! When he needed my support the most, I let him down. I was so sure my faith was strong enough to see me through any trial, but I ...

2262. Sacrifice - Hannah and Mary, the Mother of Christ

Luke 2:41-52

Drama

Martha L. Leach

... a beautiful garden! My name is Hannah. May I come in? Oh! Why are you weeping? Mary: Come in if you wish. I'm not very good company. My name is Mary. I have just returned from Golgotha. This garden belongs to my friend, John. He has asked me to stay with him now that ... that my son is dead. Hannah: You've lost your son? I am so sorry. I know you must be in great pain. Tell me what happened ... was he ill? Mary: Oh, no! He was a healthy, young man, just 33 years old - in the prime ...

2263. When You Least Expect It...

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... trying to tell Jesus what’s happening, when they obviously don’t have a clue! According to the story, Cleopas and his unnamed companion were not even following directions. Were they going to Galilee to rendezvous with the Risen Christ? No! Were they staying in Jerusalem to await the gift of the Holy Spirit? No! Cleopas and his traveling partner are out for a Sunday afternoon stroll, making their getaway from the place where they witnessed the destruction of their own private little world. You and I ...

2264. The Men

Drama

William Grimbol

... is all a cover-up, a cover-up for his real goal, a complete reversal of every standard and value upon which our lives have been based. REED: Not true! BILL: We knew you wouldn't agree. You never do. The eternal idealist. REED: That is why I TRIED to stay quiet. ARNOLD: You believe he is right then? REED: I believe he is a prophet. I believe that every prophet calls us back to our original centered ness on Yahweh. Jesus, it seems to me, is telling us that we are too infatuated by our own power, our own ...

2265. There's Blindness, and There's Blindness

John 9:13-34, John 9:1-12

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... they thought this blindness was a punishment from God for some terrible sin. And since the man was born blind, it must have been a sin committed by his parents that brought about the poor blind man’s punishment. Again, the more things change the more they stay the same. We just cannot rest until we pin the blame on someone or something. Never mind the fact that determining who is at fault accomplishes absolutely NOTHING! By golly, we’re going to get to the bottom of this and figure out whose fault it is ...

2266. Easter is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Acts 1:1-11, Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... by them. Israel was respected back then, and yes, by golly, even FEARED! People took notice. The people of David’s day enjoyed a sense of supremacy that comes with high national status. And the people liked that. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The disciples of Jesus longed for a return to that golden era of yesterday. They wanted to feel good about themselves again, to walk with their heads held high, proud to be an Israelite. That was their interpretation, their expectation of what ...

2267. Dancing with the Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... and his hometown in Pennsylvania, on his first night there Campolo experienced some confusion in his sleep pattern. He woke up about 3 o’clock in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. So he got up, got dressed, and left the hotel where he was staying, searching for a place to get something to eat. Eventually he found a tiny coffee shop that was open. Here is his description of what happened there: "The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a cup ...

2268. Episode 1: The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... ; there is no church like that. Because if there was, I'd join it." What compels a man at 3:00 in the morning in a greasy diner on some back street to throw a birthday party for a lady of the evening? It is a desire for Pentecost to stay alive and for others to repent of their sins and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 2. We must have power The church needs people with passion. But if we are to reach people for Christ we also need power. At Pentecost the disciples were given the ...

2269. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... going when he was a teenager. He and his brother wore jeans and tennis shoes to church one day and one of the deacons told them that if they couldn't dress any better than that then they didn't need to come back. And they didn't. My friend stayed away from church well into his 30's. But one day he was watching a football game on TV and saw someone holding up the sign John 3:16. He didn't think too much about it at the time. But the next day he noticed a bumper sticker on ...

2270. In the Beginning, God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... and she began also to consider the possibility of spending the rest of her life with him. Then one Thursday afternoon, Sid invited Anna to come home with him that weekend to meet his parents. His sister had recently gotten married, he said, and Anna could stay in her room. Anna agreed immediately, and she looked forward to meeting Sid’s parents. When they arrived at the farm where Sid had grown up, Anna was impressed. It was a dairy farm, with a beautiful house and a large, modern barn and rolling meadows ...

2271. Trying to Face the Strain

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... for me to come and be your pastor. It was a big decision. It involved change of major proportions, the biggest being that neither Joann nor Terri had ever lived this far away from West Tennessee. But we knew that change was inevitable, that we could not stay where we were much longer. By the time the call came, a week later, we had already decided that our answer would be "yes." The last Sunday that I preached there in Bells, as I stood in the pulpit and looked out at the gathered congregation, I remember ...

2272. Conversation or Monologue?

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... the pages of your Bible expecting to hear the voice of God speaking to you, instructing you, inspiring you, molding your heart and mind in the image of God? Would you know God’s voice if you heard it? (That’s not an insult – it’s a valid question. Stay with me, now). In this story from the Old Testament, when the young Samuel heard his name being called, he didn’t know it was God. He thought it was Eli calling him. The scene is really funny if you think about it. God keeps waking Samuel up and ...

2273. The Flame, The Wind, And The Walk

Acts 2:1-13

Drama

Marion Fairman

... Feast of Unleavened Bread - one held at harvest time. Man: (Indignant) You mean Pentecost celebrated a good crop of barley? Leader: (Laughing) Originally, yes. Woman: (Scoffing) All those people wouldn't have come to Jerusalem for a harvest feast! They'd stay home on the farms! Leader: You're right! But at the end of the exodus from Egypt when the Jews arrived in Sinai, the harvest of Pentecost coincided with that date. Their gratitude gave the festival deep, religious significance - so - Man: (Interrupting ...

2274. At the Foot of the Cross

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... for me. I was locked in thought. In a soft whisper which nevertheless had great resonance, he spoke his final words, "It is finished. Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." He was a corpse. Again the lightning ripped across the sky. Several men from the Sanhedrin stayed around to watch one of the guards pierce his side to assure death. Then they too left to report the good news to Caiaphas and Annas. Something was swelling up inside of me. As I watched this man die, as I heard his words of love and ...

2275. Praying With Tears in Your Eyes

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... for funds to find a new way to India, and he discovered America. Booker T. Washington, wanting to go to college, heard about a school that would take blacks. He walked 100 miles to get there only to find that the enrollment was closed. He begged to stay and worked sweeping floors and washing windows. Finally, he was allowed to register. Years later, he worked on an experiment and failed 700 times. On the 701st time he found the right way. One time a mother and her three children were in a sailboat which was ...

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