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 2426 to 2450 of 4972 results

2426. Luke 3:7-18

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in Luke 13:6-9). Layering and mixing judgment metaphors John also proclaims that “fire” will be part of the final fiat of God, recalling the prophecies of Malachi 4:1 which promised that the conflagration on the day of the Lord would leave “neither root nor branch” of the evildoers. John knew there was nothing like the immediacy of a promised “hot foot” to get people moving. His frightening words, not surprisingly, inspire his audience to ask “What should we do?” John has already instructed ...

2427. Turning Potholes into Mud Puddles on the Bethlehem Road

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2428. The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... , let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” Nehemiah knew they were up to no good. So he sent messengers to answer them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent him the same message, and each time he gave them the same answer, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.” He was telling the truth. He was carrying on a great project. Nehemiah had a ...

2429. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... . I heard what you said about being frustrated, pushing your life too hard, and how God is helping you. I realized my life is out of hand and I’m scared.” Keith had a plane to catch, but didn’t want to just leave the man. “Would you like to commit your life to Christ, leave this woman and learn to live again?” “Yes,” John said. “Then tell God where you’ve been and who you are,” said Keith Miller. “Confess. Then tell Christ, ‘I give up. Show me how to live because I don’t know how ...

2430. On God's Side Or In God's Way?

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... had ostracized six members because they were gay. He told of his nanny, an African‑American woman who had raised him from birth, who had taught him more than anyone else the difference between right and wrong. He told of how one day when he was a boy about to leave for school, she had leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek, and how he had averted his head because he had been taught all his life that black people were not supposed to kiss white people. He spoke of the shame that he had carried since ...

2431. Can you Hear “The Voice?”

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... cancer. Without the bone marrow transplant, that young man only has six months to live. The kicker is that a bone marrow transplant leaves the donor in such a depleted condition that you can hardly raise your hands above your head, much less throw a hammer and ... is ringing [Conclude sermon by leading the congregation in the song “In The Garden,” picking up the melody where you leave off with the words “Within my heart is ringing”] COMMENTARY Early in the fourth gospel John repeatedly moves Jesus back ...

2432. Revelation 22:12-14; 16-17; 20-21

Revelation 22:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Lots of people lament the “long goodbye.” They find lengthy leave-takings overly sentimental, or maudlin, or awkward and uncomfortable, or even just bad luck. For those who want ... of redemption so that they may once again be connected to the fullness of God’s love. Lots of people lament the “long goodbye.” They find lengthy leave-takings overly sentimental, or maudlin, or awkward and uncomfortable, or even just bad luck. For those who want to say goodbye as swiftly as possible, the post-911 ...

2433. Two Sinners

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... He does, we had better learn to be grateful for God’s grace because you and I are in big trouble otherwise. “To whom much is given,” says the Master, “much is expected” (Lk. 12:48). This is to say that it is our job to love people and to leave judging to God. This is how we best witness for Christ by reaching out to others in the same way Christ reached out to us. “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us . . .” writes St. Paul (Romans 5:8). And that is the same attitude we should have in ...

2434. The Lord’s Prayer and The Stones-Serpents-Scorpions Story

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to a large-than-life memory. What is it? Our story. Our family. Our siblings. Our spouses. Our children. Our great-grandchildren. Our “story,” our life goes on, because we are remembered and recounted in the memories, in the roots, branches and leaves, of our family tree. In this week’s gospel text we are taught the “Lord’s Prayer,” or more precisely, the “Disciples’ Prayer.” This prayer is the distinguishing, identifying marker for those who follow Jesus. It is the disciple’s singular ...

2435. Financial Planning

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... many persons never get around to making a will. Probably we don’t like to face the fact that one day we will be leaving this world’s possessions behind. But it is true that we cannot take it with us. Somebody asked, “I wonder how much money a certain ... ?” A wise friend replied, “He left it all.” Some day so shall we. Wouldn’t it be smart to make sure that the money we leave behind us will be put to good use? If we do not plan for the disposal of our earthly possessions when we go to be with ...

2436. Real Heros

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... was born. The persecution under Nero was an unbelievably horrid chapter in the life of the church. It cost many believers their lives. It cost many other less committed believers their faith. (2) Persecution caused many of weak or immature faith to leave the church. Most of the earliest members of the Christian community had been Jews. They had left the Jewish synagogue to worship instead as Christians in the church. With the persecution under Nero, however, many began returning to the synagogue. They ...

2437. Lost, But Not the TV Show!

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... the way all humans design their society. People want to stay in their own comfort zone. But Jesus won’t allow us to stay where we are comfortable. He told them these parables: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found ...

2438. When God Tests Us

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Argile Smith

... to replace him with another deity. And like all of us, the Israelites confused silence with absence. They hadn’t heard from God or Moses, his messenger, in a while. Consequently, they figured that God must have left the mountain and Moses must have died there, leaving his people waiting anxiously in the middle of an unforgiving desert. In their anxiety, they wondered who would take them on from there. How do you react when God seems to give you the silent treatment? Do you assume that he’s absent? If so ...

2439. When God Does Something New

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Argile Smith

... language. Although he spent his life in the little town of Wittenberg, his influence was felt all over Europe. In time other reformers would join him in his work. What prompted him to make such a monumental impact on his world? Was it a desire to leave a legacy? Was it selfish ambition? Was it awareness that he had a unique message that people wanted to hear? No! He was moved by the Christ who had forgiven his sins and had transformed his heart in the process. In fact, history shows that many reformers ...

2440. The Lamb

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Argile Smith

... to him to be courageous, but no one could identify the voice. Let’s suppose that it was the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, encouraging one of his choice servants not to be afraid. That notion would make sense, given the fact that a shepherd never leaves his sheep. When one of his lambs gets into trouble, the shepherd’s never far away. He comes to the rescue. For Polycarp, he came to the rescue, giving his servant what he couldn’t give himself in his time of tremendous need. Many other Christians ...

2441. God Cares

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Argile Smith

... . Separated. Now imagine that you have been placed in that remote location against your will. You were forced to go to the strange and awful place that feels like a cold, dank prison. Being there reminds you of the warm, inviting home you were forced to leave. Leaving everything that you associate with home, you have been given no other choice but to start over in this strange place. You won’t get any help from your new surrounding. Don’t count on anyone to check on you from time to time. Forget about ...

2442. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the morning. Jesus was on his way back to the city and he was hungry. There was no fast food place where he could run through a drive-through. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but he found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only ...

2443. He's Back

John 20:19-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

... it’s about eternal matters. He tells us we’ll never get away from him — that’s what his resurrection is about. In Jerusalem on that spring Sunday evening, Jesus’ original students are locked in because they’re frightened. Their fear keeps them even from leaving the house. They’re paralyzed. We know what it’s like to be stunned by grief, loss of a job, our beloved rejecting us, a war starting, an illness, or our crops or business failing. Yet Jesus roams the planet again, first in the shadows ...

2444. Praying In Jesus' Name

John 14:5-14

Sermon

David O. Bales

... with God, and I emphasize “with” because prayer isn’t just talking to God. God invites conversation with us by sending Jesus. God wants our attention, wants us to turn aside, leave what we’re doing and whoever else we’re talking to, and speak with God. God wants to share our lives in prayer. Yet, our pious statements can demonstrate how we even leave God out of prayer. We say things like, “I believe in the power of prayer.” That’s like saying, “I believe in my wife’s car. I believe in my ...

2445. What If Joseph Were the Patron Saint of 2014?

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ancestors had to go boldly into the new and unfamiliar, claiming it as a new home. Joseph, Mary and Egypt went to Egypt — almost an anathema for a Jew. There was a precarious Jewish presence in certain regions of Egypt, as we have said. But Joseph was leaving Israel, a Promised Land, to go there. It was a whole new world. But it was a world to which the Spirit told Joseph he should entrust his future and his family. So Joseph embraced the unknown and the dangerous. He did not hesitate. He raced headlong ...

2446. The New Census

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the way things are in the South, and this is the way we’re going to do it. We’re not going to integrate this counter.” (Joe MacNeil, ABC News Service, “Pride and Prejudice, Civil Rights Sit-In” 1998) The four men did not leave. They stayed there at that lunch counter and insisted that they counted, and that they be counted. Their refusal to be counted “no-accounts” began a revolution. They were joined at the counter by other students from North Carolina Agriculture and Technical College. When ...

2447. Cleaned and Claimed

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... of a large city. One day she came and sat on the steps of the church. She refused to come in. She just listened from outside. It was hot and the door was open. She heard singing from within. She kept coming to those church steps . . . arriving late, and leaving early, and for weeks never coming in the door. Eventually, she did come in and she sat at the table in a Sunday School class and even joined a new members’ class. In this class, the pastor talked about baptism and what it meant to be named by God ...

2448. In the Shadow of His Brother

John 1:35-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... show, and yet we hesitate. Some of you are much more comfortable about witnessing for Christ with your actions than your words. I understand. That’s far better than those who witness with their words, but live such shoddy lives that they defeat their witness. But as you leave this house of worship today, I want to ask you to do something. I want you to ask yourself even better to prayerfully ask God if there is something you can do to bring someone else or to point someone else to Jesus. You might do that ...

2449. You Are the Light of the World

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... house was in lighting the lamp. Remember they didn’t have matches or lighters. As a result, no one wanted to let their light go out because it took too much work to get the wick lit again. However, when people went out of the house it was dangerous to leave the light on. So, for safety reasons, when they left their homes the lamp would be taken from its lamp stand and placed under an earthen vessel where it could burn risk free. Of course, no one lights a light only to put it under a basket or earthen ...

2450. The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... with a woman. If they had only known what kind of woman she was, they would have been more surprised. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” But the ending to the story is what is fascinating. John tells us that, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” Then, John tells us the people she talked to came out of the town and made their way toward ...

Showing results