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 2351 to 2375 of 4972 results

2351. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

John Smylie

... senses by fasting and prayer. We can quicken our spiritual memories by reading God's word; these are things which can be very useful when they do not become either a stick for beating ourselves or a measuring rod to mark our great piety. Perhaps our own wilderness will leave us very little room for the familiar methods by which we have met our Lord in the past. Perhaps we shall have to struggle to realize one day at a time it is not ultimately our ability to meet the needs and demands of those with whom we ...

2352. The Elephant in The Living Room

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Smylie

... home. The bruises to her heart and soul may have been far deeper and more painful. Andy was angry with me, as well, and it was obvious that it would be better for me to leave than to stay. I had stirred up the pot in a way that would wreak havoc on all of them. I am sure he felt resentment toward me because I could leave and he was stuck in the profound sickness of this family system. The younger brother was also at a loss because I had named the elephant in the living room and for him it ...

2353. It’s Anybody’s Guess

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... on planting the seeds: a mother's prayer, a father's encouragement, a little girl's joy, a young boy's imagination, a vacation Bible school teacher. That's how much Jesus trusts God to bring in the harvest. Just keep planting the seeds of the kingdom. Leave the outcome in God's hands. Pope John XXIII was one of the great leaders of the last century. Someone said that he ended his prayers each night by saying to himself, "But who governs the church, Angelo? You or the Holy Spirit? Very well then, sleep well ...

2354. When the Impossible Becomes Imminently Possible!

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... it to my wife," they say. In a similar way, thousands who call themselves friends of the church do a naked nothing to support Christ's work through the church. They forfeit opportunities to make a difference, leaving others to carry the load. Their cry: "Send them away! Let someone else be responsible. Let another person carry the load!" Without considering what Christ might do through willing hands and hearts, we "pass the buck!" Or, as an old saying goes, Everybody says, "Let Somebody do it." Somebody ...

2355. Planning Your Way Out

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... end of existence, and the one who dies with the most toys wins, then what kind of "winning" is that? The philosophical materialism view of death is summed up in the sentence, "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Good-bye!" "Winning," it seems, leaves all its possessions behind and is therefore no different from losing. How can winning and death be mentioned in the same sentence? Yet, there are many people, including some in the church, who live their lives by this measure of success. Long ago, the ...

2356. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. — Mark 7:7-8 That is the difference between theism and me-ism. We either worship God for God's sake or worship God for our sake. The fact that we attend a certain church and leave feeling good does not necessarily guarantee us that worship in that church pleases God. Real worship is not measured by how it pleases me but by how it measures up to God's word. Today we use the term "seeker-sensitive" to define certain styles of worship. We must ...

2357. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... to anyone who wants them and can afford them. Business is conducted there by well-dressed city residents, who leave their homes and servants each day as they make their way to the heart of the prosperous business district ... experience of wondering where Jesus was in our time of need only to realize later that he was with us all the time. His promise is, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5a). So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to ...

2358. Ollie, Ollie, All In Free!

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Steven Molin

... ourselves to others, we look great! For us, it seems, it's Halloween all year long, and we keep those religious masks firmly fixed on our faces so that nobody knows what our warts and flaws really are. I remember those fall nights so long ago, when the leaves turned color and the temperatures turned cool, and we played those backyard games. Often, my hiding spot was so good, I was never found. Even when I wanted to be, I was never found. I would get tired of hiding, but my pride kept me there. Sooner or ...

2359. On The Night When He Was Betrayed

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... more it has been given for you because it is given for the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins isn't for perfect people. It's for people like Judas, who betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver. It's for people like Peter who promised he would never leave Jesus and then turned around and flatly denied even knowing him. It's for people like the disciples who cowered in fear as soon as Jesus left them. That's the way this holy meal began. It's a meal given for the unworthy, where no one is excluded ...

2360. Eternal Life Is Now

1 John 5:9-13

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... appetizer. Imagine going to a Mexican restaurant and they bring you the chips and salsa and tell you that's all you get. That's the way holy communion is for us. It's just the appetizer and in this life, that's all we get. But someday, when we leave all the limitations of this life behind, we get the whole enchilada! We'll know God completely. That's nothing spooky. It's a natural step in the relationship that we have with God. If we're in relationship with God, eternal life has already begun for us. If we ...

2361. Yielding to Spiritual Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23, James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... bathed him, gave him some simple food, and introduced him to love — love without strings attached. The man died. But he died with dignity, knowing that he was loved. As he lay dying he looked up at Mother Teresa and said, "I came here as an animal. I leave in death as an angel." Sometimes our faith takes us into homes that don't smell like ours. It might involve us with people whose morals are not like ours. It can confront us with situations that seem to defy solutions, except to love and serve the need ...

2362. Oops! I Did It Again

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... crucifix in the church. The thieves had unbolted the 4-foot long, 200-pound plaster Jesus from the crucifix, but left behind the wooden cross to which it was attached. The church caretaker, David St. James, confessed his bewilderment at this. “They just decided, ‘We’re going to leave the cross and take Jesus,’” he said. “We don’t know why they took just him. We figure if you want the crucifix, you take the whole crucifix.” (5) We know why, don’t we? Many people would like to have Jesus and ...

2363. Reconciliation Day

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... d stop the car in the middle of the road, get out, walk around and ask if there was a problem. After being punched in the nose five or six times, and paying off the vacation homes of several local plastic surgeons, he finally gave up and now leaves the lessons to the police. That’s what you need to do, too, Cliff . . . When something like this happens, remember that people ultimately get what they deserve, even if it isn’t at that exact moment. If you’re a nice person, good things will happen to you ...

2364. Where's Dad?

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... make it? (pauses for imaginary conversation on the other end) Well, what about what we had agreed to talk about? Yes, yes I know. But, but, Dad, I thought what we were going to talk about was pretty important, too. Dad, I’m 21 years old. I’m leaving tomorrow for Central America. I’ll be gone at least a year — can’t you just for once ... Oh, all right. (dejectedly) Yes, thank you, I’ll have a safe trip. I’ll let you know when I arrive. Bye. (hangs up telephone, walks wearily to table) (Stranger ...

2365. Don't Mess with the IRS

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... the mail. He provided “personal service.” Anything a person might need to purchase from the post office, Mr. Billie provided stamps, money orders, pickup service. All a customer needed to do was leave the flag up on their mailbox. One elderly woman had trouble starting her lawn mower, so whenever she wanted to use it, she would simply leave it by her mailbox, raise the flag, and when Mr. Billie came by, he would start it for her! Mr. Billie gave a new definition to the phrase “public servant.” (6 ...

2366. God Is the Hound of Heaven

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... continues to be faithful. God will always go out of his way, do whatever is necessary, to save us. Francis Thompson, the famous British poet, in his epic work, "The Hound of Heaven," has it right. Thompson speaks of a God who searches for us relentlessly, without rest, leaving no stone unturned in a diligent search for our souls. God will look high and low, near and far for us as he searched out the remnant of Israel and made every effort to return the people to the land. He shepherded them and so will he ...

2367. Oh, That I Knew Where I Might Find Him

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... in their hearts" (1:5). It may be that here, where it says Job does not curse God "with his lips," the narrative leaves just a little crack in Job's piety — for example, what about his heart? Whether through the efforts of the storyteller who ... other," a God of majesty and might, ought to strike dread in our hearts. This is Martin Buber's Mysterium Tremendum. Where does that leave Job? The last verse of our text is ambiguous. Job's situation is characterized as one of deep darkness; but is he overcome by ...

2368. Death Is Swallowed Up Forever

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... , to support its legions. So it symbolized chaos, the home of the sea monsters, Leviathan of the deep. But now, the sea is no more! Instead of the sea, we have the river of life flowing from the throne of God. Water nourishing the tree of life, whose leaves work for the healing of the nations. This is the water that corresponds to baptism. It is our access to the new life in Christ. It is in this new life in Christ that we rejoice through our baptism. Baptism snatches us from the chaotic waters, washes us ...

2369. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-8

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... informs Linus that he forgot to do the backs of his shoes. They still are all scuffed. “Oh I didn’t forget,” Linus explains. “I just care what people think about me as I come into the room. I don’t care what they think of me when I leave.” That is the kind of attitude Paul is forcefully arguing against in today’s epistle text. For the sake of the gospel that he is preaching, in order to be true to the mission to which he has been appointed, Paul deems it imperative that the communities of new ...

2370. End of the World: Bringing Down the House

Illustration

... than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire raced through the whole building and the fun-loving audience with it. "And ...

2371. Tacky Messages in Choir

Illustration

Staff

... at first. Researcher Spence Sliver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would "tack" one piece of paper to another and even re-stick, without leaving any residue on the second piece of paper. The company had no use for the new adhesive until 3M chemist Arthur Fry began having problems in the choir loft. The slips of paper he used to mark pages in his hymnal often fluttered to the floor ...

2372. A Slave to Food

Illustration

Dave Wilkenson

... Raynald's younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room. This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald's size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But ...

2373. A Move from Moscow

Illustration

... change because since that moment the main dogmas of Communism lost their significance for me. I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia." That woman's struggle was a terrible one. To leave Russia, she had to leave two children in Moscow and realize that it would be, as she said, "impossible to go back." Pascal said there is within every person a "God-shaped vacuum." He's right. Historians Will and Ariel Durant observed in their summary volume, The Lessons ...

2374. A Replacement for Glen

Illustration

... . He began taking Bible courses at night, and eventually obtained his Bible school degree. Prior to graduation, he informed his boss that he'd be leaving shortly to work as a pastor in a rural church. Neither the owner of the company or the boss believed it, and they neglected to obtain a replacement for Glen. Eventually Glen told the boss that he really was leaving and they needed to locate a replacement as soon as possible. The owner of the company still doubting Glen's sincerity, instructed Glen's boss ...

2375. Letters of Instruction

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

... m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time, he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers that everything is in a mess, weeds flourishing in the flower beds ...

Showing results