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 2451 to 2475 of 4977 results

2451. A Great Day

Mark 16:4

Children's Sermon

... children. Good morning, boys and girls. Do you know that Jesus came back to life from the dead? He promised us that the same thing was going to happen to every one of us who believe that this is God's plan and that Jesus made it possible. That was quite a day. It did not begin for most people like days usually do. If you know there is going to be a big day tomorrow, you can hardly sleep, you are so excited. You think of all the good things that are going to happen to you, and how you ...

2452. The Nearest Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

... ." "He did touch you. How do you think God touches people? That he comes down like a fog blanket or a pillar of fire? When God touches people he takes the nearest hand and uses that." That sounds good, doesn’t it? And it’s almost right. Almost, but not quite. She left out one word. When God touches people he takes the nearest willing hand and uses that. The Gospel for today is a case in point. The nearest hand to the stricken traveler was the hand of the priest, but it wasn’t a willing hand. The next ...

2453. Growing in God's Freedom

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... open and emerge into a new world, quivering and defenseless. Teenagers do it as they become adults. No wonder, James Taylor says, they get crabby. I did it in the '60s when I had to think new thoughts about race relations and war. Adults do it as they learn to quit running their children's lives. Or when they lose their jobs, or divorce strikes, or a spouse dies, or one's home burns up, or when an investment fails. But we are free to grow up and bear fruit by the grace of God. I remember Norman. He and his ...

2454. The Master Has Come - To Proclaim God’s Kingdom

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

... in Texas, wrote a book called Why Does Jesus Make Me Nervous? He told of going to see his friend Carlyle Marney, and telling him he was thinking of leaving the ministry. When asked why, Mann replied that he was unhappy. Marney said, "Well, you ought to quit! Whoever told you that you had a right to be happy? The ministry is no place for the pursuit of happiness ... it’s a place for the pursuit of the Kingdom of God!" Too many Christians are worshiping the gods of happiness. The Christian life is a ...

2455. The Master Has Come - And Calls Disciples

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

... way to Cuba. He was a missionary for years. He would go to a small town, announce a service in the square, preach to everyone in town, and organize a church. When Castro came to power he wanted John Stroud to work for the government. But John Stroud refused to quit preaching. One night an army sergeant came to his door, and said, "Come quick. Bring nothing with you." He took John Stroud and his family and put them on a plane to Miami. The next day the army came to arrest him. The sergeant had saved his life ...

2456. The Master Has Come - To Build His Church

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

... are the Christ, the son of the living God." This is the message of the church. We must never forget this. The message is the motive. We have no other reason for being except that Jesus is Christ. If Jesus is not Christ, then let’s all go home and quit fooling ourselves, for we have nothing to offer the world. If Jesus is not Christ, then we are no more than a civic club which meets on Sunday. The church does not even make a good civic club. The message about who Jesus is has created the church. He is ...

2457. At Table With The Lord

Drama

... . He reassured me of that this morning. Mary: This morning? Mary Magdalene: Yes. I arose earlier than usual because I was upset and troubled. I went out into the cool morning air, thinking to watch the sunrise and perhaps be comforted by its beauty. It was quite dark however, and the heavy, black clouds swirled and sped through the troubled sky like winged chariots of death. And, then the edges of the clouds became tinged with scarlet, and the red began to cover the black clouds as blood gushes from a wound ...

2458. The Life We Prize

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

Various Authors

... ’s bedside. The son said, "Dad, I love you and I ask you to forgive me for any way in which I have hurt you." The father shouted, "Why don’t you go back to your fancy living and just leave me alone!" Fred had the choice of whether to quit and to give up or to go to the Cross and to die to any claims for himself. He identified with Jesus’ humiliation and suffering. He went back again to a father who could only be more and more spiteful. Suddenly one day when Fred walked into the room, his ...

2459. More Real Than Food

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Carl Jech

... . One has it that since people would go to any dumb show in the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, theater managers would not worry much about the quality of their shows after Thanksgiving. Hence, a mediocre show is a turkey. A quite different explanation holds that theatrical flops are called turkeys because Thanksgiving Day is traditionally the worst day of the entire year for getting people out to the theater. A third theory simply follows the stereotype that maligns the turkey as one of ...

2460. Strength to Overcome Suffering

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

James R. Tozer

... the rut of self-pity and ineffectiveness. About mid-morning a young woman named Betty sought my counsel. Her best friend had spread false rumors about Betty among the people with whom Betty associated professionally and socially. Betty let this hurt defeat her. Then quite abruptly I said, "You’re beautiful, you’re strong, you’re gifted, you’re sure of success!" Startled, she asked, "Do you really think so?" "I am sure it is true because God has placed his image and his plan within you!" I answered ...

2461. Running for Jesus

Romans 5:3-4

Children's Sermon

... of the children have some form of exercise to do.) That's very good. Now I want all of us to begin doing the exercise that we have chosen and to do it really fast so that we get a lot of work out of everyone. (Don't let them quit when they first start to tire, because we want to talk about how we must endure the pain of our suffering to produce some hope.) Let's keep going. Even if we feel tired, it is important that we keep going because we are going to prove something to each ...

2462. Changing Bad to Good

Romans 12:21

Children's Sermon

... good. Jesus taught us that there are several ways to make bad things stop happening to you. Some people like to do bad things to you. If you want to, you can do bad things back to the people who have done them to you. Maybe you can make them quit, but usually they forget that they did it first and they just blame you for starting it, and since they did something bad to begin with, they keep doing worse things. Nothing ever gets better. It only gets worse. But that is one way to work against the bad things ...

2463. First Jesus, Then Us

1 Corinthians 15:20

Children's Sermon

... about life and death? Jesus taught his disciples that when he died and was buried, he would come back to life again. Not only that, but Jesus also promised that everyone else who believed that he was the Son of God would also live again after they died. That is quite a promise. Imagine how many people believe that Jesus is the Son of God and how many of them have died. That is a lot of people. Let's suppose that when we open this box, the first tissue is Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus is the first one ...

2464. Love Transcending Law and Custom

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

... ?" must be found in human history. That is what Joseph did. And, in a very real sense, it was the theology of Joseph which made possible the first Christmas. If Joseph had not cooperated with God's action in human history, the birth of Jesus would have been quite different. The witness of Joseph calls us to cooperate with God's work in today's world. It calls us to respond to God's action among us. Joseph, not having all of the evidence and knowledge of the future, decided to do more than law and custom ...

2465. When God's Mind is Spoken

Judges 1:1-36

Sermon

... believe it." To be sure, the church may have failed its youth. To be sure, we may not have taught the faith concisely and clearly. But there might just be another side to that coin; and that other side might be that those youth, like a lot of us, have quit listening to the Word that became flesh. Listening to the Word made flesh must always be voluntary if it is to do any good. On the whole, people do not attain strong spirituality out of a sense of duty. We cannot compel others to listen to the Word made ...

2466. The Bodily Glorification of God

John 1:29-34

Sermon

... peace, justice, and brotherhood. Instead, they had been physical with it. They had taken their bodies out into the street where no one could misunderstand what they stood for. Maybe that is what Saint Paul meant when he said, "Glorify God with your body." Maybe he meant, "Quit sitting around talking about it and be there. Go there and put it on the line." In a few weeks, people of this church are going on a mission to St. Vincent. They are going to bodily witness their faith in Jesus Christ and their faith ...

2467. The Called Ones

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... of his impoverished life drew others to him, and increased the numbers of the Franciscan Order. His began the first of the monastic groups to develop a spiritual life - a life lived as much in the world as it was in the withdrawn quite life. Likewise, Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845) exemplified an emphasis on living by Jesus' example. In addition to raising a large family, this wife of a wealthy London merchant single-handedly initiated, and caused the implementation of, efforts to reform the prison system ...

2468. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

... lose his or her salt-like quality and be good for nothing as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Saying that salt has lost its taste is like saying, "Bob was once a disciple;" or "Mary was once a follower;" "Bob once gave flavor to life, but for some reason, he quit doing it." So, add that one to your list of all that you are expected to be. You are to be the salt of the earth. But Jesus also said that you are the light of the world. Everyone knows the purpose of light. Light casts out the darkness, enables ...

2469. Cowherding Christians

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... trails they’ve always taken. We are one big mass of humanity now. Our moods and interests are very much influenced by television and advertising. Few of us often think orginal thoughts or do daring things. It’s easier for us just to ramble on, never quite reaching the barn. What we need today are more cowherders, of good quality of course. Have you ever been to New York City or Los Angeles or Chicago? Besides all the cars, what you notice are the thousands and thousands of people all frantically trying ...

2470. Studying under the Greatest Teacher

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... with a man named Dr. Helmut Hoffmann for nearly five years in graduate study at Indiana University. At that time I was involved in Comparative Religions and Tibetan Studies. It was my intention to become a great scholar like Dr. Hoffmann. He was quite well known for his academic prowess in Europe and the United States as well. He knew over twenty languages that I was aware he knew. He had studied English, German, French, Italian, Tibetan, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Nepali, Mongol, and Manchu to name ...

2471. Come and Find Rest

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

... serves on committees for year after year then comes the time that he or she is completely exhausted and "retires" from all church work. Rest is needed. I have seen several pastors suffer from burnout. It is such a common problem that there are now quite a few books on the topic. Burnout means loss of zeal for life. Burnout means nothing brings pleasure anymore. The only cure for burnout is rest, sometimes a change of scenery, or maybe a change of attitude. But burnout does not mean that one need remain ...

2472. Baptism of Our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 10:23b-48, Psalm 45:1-17, Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon Aid

... , of the one, or ones, to be baptized that day, plus the wording of the baptismal declaration, "(Name), child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever." The Sacrament of Baptism, in that building, is, quite often, anything but silent. The words can be heard all over the building and the congregation is usually aware of the sound of the water being poured on the head of the person being baptized. And the silent announcement on the baptismal banner becomes a ...

2473. Epiphany 4

Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 1:1-6

Sermon Aid

... and ministry continue to be the dominant theological and liturgical themes for this Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, which provide the homiletical clue to the selection of readings and the sermon itself. The theological framework of the church year is quite "thin," almost indiscernible in the middle of Epiphany; actually, the beginning and ending of the season keep the manifestation/ministry themes in focus. The celebration of the Transfiguration on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, as it is built ...

2474. Lent 2

Genesis 12:1-8, Psalm 105:1-45, Matthew 17:1-13, John 3:1-21; 4:5-42, Romans 4:1-25

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... goal of going through Lent to Easter. The framework is eucharistic and baptismal; this should be kept in mind when preaching through the rest of Lent. The Prayer of the Day The first of two LBW prayers for the Second Sunday in Lent, which is quite similar to the single Episcopal collect, strikes the ancient penitential theme of Lent: "Bring back all who have erred and strayed from your ways; lead them again to embrace in faith the truth of your Word and to hold it fast." Repentance, renewal of faith, and ...

2475. Lent 3

Psalm 142:1-7, Isaiah 42:10-17, Isaiah 42:18-25, Ephesians 4:17--5:21, John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon Aid

... and assistance; God is his only hope, the only one who can deliver him from the enemy. From one perspective, the cry of the psalmist is pathetic; from another, it is absolutely beautiful, because he completely puts himself in the hands of God. It is quite evident from the LBW perspective that the use of this psalm, especially when the psalm prayer is taken into consideration, is connected to the passion of Jesus, particularly to his agony on the cross, despite the fact that this is only the third week of ...

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