Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: punish, blame, condemn, hold to

Showing 1 to 25 of 29 results

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... to love as we are loved. You have granted us your own Spirit of love to dwell in us. But, Lord, you know how blocked we become. We are hampered in our loving by our judgments, our preconceptions, our selfishness, our pride, our anxiety, and our drive to blame others for our lives. We wait for people to meet our standards; we create images for people to fulfill; we wait for others to make the first move in accepting us before we give ourselves. Forgive us, Lord, and free us. Help us to see that the purpose ...

2. Proper 17 * Pentecost 15 * Ordinary Time 22

Matthew 16:21-28

Bulletin Aid

"Get behind me, Satan!" Sounds like an easy thing to say Glib Facetious Kind of like "The Devil made me do it!" Sometimes I think it's a cop-out It doesn't take my responsibility seriously! It would be fine If I could - Seriously - Blame my temptations on the Devil - Or somebody else - But they are mine! My choices to make For good or bad And they are hard choices! (If they weren't They wouldn't be tempting! And I wouldn't risk making the wrong ones!) Lord, forgive me for yielding to temptation ...

3. Beginning to Weep

John 11:32-44

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... of her brother Lazarus, he began to weep. The shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept," brings us close to Jesus. We sense that God understands and accepts our tears when we begin to weep. Collect Help us, O God, to endure the regrets, the blame and self-blame, the anger, and all the other emotions of loss when we have sorrow. Guide us through the craziness that overtakes our lives. Through the presence of Christ. Amen. Prayer of Confession Amid our tears of grief, we fear losing control, O God. Can we ...

4. I Will Not Leave You

2 Kings 2:1-18

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... . Prayer Of Confession God, when everything seems to be going our way, we are quick to take credit for our decisions, and when life brings us disappointment, trials, and temptations, we are often quick to blame you. Forgive our foolishness, O Lord, and help us to see that when things go wrong, we usually have ourselves to blame for not listening to your guidance. When things are going well, we should give you the glory and the praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Offertory Prayer Lord, we know that you are ...

5. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... in spite of all the confusion? We suspect that our dilemma isn't all that crucial to you. You've long since known that we confuse ourselves and this is just another instance of it. Perhaps we need to spend this time with you as best we can, not blaming ourselves, and go about the task of quieting our emotions. It is so astounding to us that you are willing to abide our confusion, waiting until we can come to you in clarity. You are more caring of us than we are of ourselves. We judge ourselves so much ...

6. Prayers for Epiphany

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... ourselves far from the spiritual home we dreamed of -- lost and naked of spirit. O God, we have tried to see our plight as the failure of our parents. We have accused them of failing in their love. Then in ever widening circles we have placed blame for our emptiness on our spouse, our family, our church, our schools, and our community. But in honesty -- for our polished exteriors don't deceive you -- we confess that our predicament can be attributed to the roads we have taken, to the decisions we have made ...

7. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 4:35-41

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... your life. (Wait.) Consider how those storms affect your relationship with family, friends, co-workers, schoolmates, and so forth. (One minute of silence.) What is your behavior that keeps the storms blowing? (One minute of silence.) Many of us prefer to blame others for our storms. (Two minutes of silence.) Following the silence, offer a two- or three-sentence corporate prayer of forgiveness for the contribution that each of us makes to the creation of our own storms. Introduction to the Act of Forgiveness ...

8. Advent 2

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 1:67-80

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... in you will bring it to completion by the Day of Christ Jesus. Friends, believe the Good News. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Exhortation Grow richer in love, in knowledge and insight of every kind, then on the Day of Christ, you will be flawless and without blame, reaping the full harvest of goodness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory of God. Prayer of the Day In this year of our Lord, in this day of our times, Speaker-Out-of-Eternity, let your word be heard again, that every baptism may be a ...

9. Proper 25

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27, Psalm 65:1-13, 2 Timothy 4:9-18, Luke 18:9-14

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... 's appearing on that great day. Prayer of the Day Save us from building ourselves up at the expense of others, fair God, lest we face your final put down. Teach us humility and honesty in self-evaluation that does not seek freedom from blame by doing nothing, but by striving to continue until we have completed the course you have set before us. Grant us the resurrection to final joy as you did your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Prayer of Thanksgiving Initiating Spirit, consummating Being, you ...

10. The Lord's Ways Are Greater Than Our Ways

Job 42:7-17, Job 42:1-6

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... god but You, and we will not turn away from Your call. Use us, O Lord, according to Your perfect plan for our lives. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, sometimes when life has presented us with difficult circumstances we have been quick to blame You and to complain about Your plan for our lives. And often when we have not gotten things exactly as we wanted them, we have again complained about Your injustice. Forgive us, O Lord, and help our faith to grow as we learn to trust You completely ...

11. Lent 1

Mark 1:9-15

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... your presence. Our hands are soiled with the failure of our good intentions. Our hearts are burdened with the guilt which comes from the bad choices we have made. Our faith is on shaky ground because we are distracted by doubts and questions. We make excuses. We blame others for our problems. Only your forgiving love can bring us to our senses. Our only hope is found in Jesus Christ. Bring the power of forgiveness to bear upon our hearts and set us free to live the new life you intend for us to live. Amen ...

12. PROPER 15

Exodus 16:1-36

Bulletin Aid

... providence, that we may live in the assurance that you will care for us and meet all our needs. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession You have never deserted us, Father, yet when trouble arises, we are quick to worry or become afraid. Sometimes we blame you, and ask why. Forgive us for not giving you our trust, believing that you know our need and will provide for us. Remind us of all the wonderful acts you have performed for your people, that we may know we have nothing to fear with you being ...

13. Proper 16

Exodus 17:1-7

Bulletin Aid

... experiences with the awareness of our Savior's presence; that we may discover our needs are met when we put our faith in him. In his name we pray. Amen. Prayer of Confession We panic easily, Lord, when we feel life is overcome with threats. Forgive us when we blame you for our painful experiences, instead of depending on you to heal our pain. Increase our faith to rest in the assurance of your love; that we may know the joy of our Savior's company. In his name we pray. Amen. Hymns "Come, Thou Fount of Every ...

14. First Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4:1-11, Romans 5:12-21, Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25

Bulletin Aid

... with the sinfulness of Adam; that we may accept full responsibility for our guilt, and come to you, seeking forgiveness and renewed fellowship through Christ our Savior. Amen. Prayer of Confession We see too much of Adam in ourselves, Father; and we tend to blame you for creating us that way. Forgive us for our many sins, and for our unwillingness to accept responsibility for our sinful behavior. Convince us of your love, sinful as we are; that we may give more devotion to your divine laws, and less ...

15. Proper 7

Romans 5:12-21

Bulletin Aid

... Paul's juridical paralleling of Adam and Jesus is one of contrasts: the former's trespass (disobedience) brought condemnation and death to all under the Law; the latter's righteousness (obedience) brought them acquittal and life under grace. The point here is neither to blame Adam for death (see the "because" clause in v. 15) nor to treat physical death as a punishment, but to underscore the "living death" of being estranged from God that everyone's sin (like Adam's) causes. Call to Worship (based on Psalm ...

16. Proper 24

Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, Mark 10:35-45

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... done enormous emotional damage to ourselves and others because of our easy explanations of human suffering as your judgment or curse. Forgive us, we pray. Teach us to regard suffering as a part of life, and to seek to benefit from it rather than to blame. In the name of the suffering but triumphant Christ we pray. Amen Second Lesson: Hebrews 4:14-16 Theme: The Savior’s sympathy Exegetical Note These verses begin the author’s full development of a central theme: Christ’s high priesthood. A key part of ...

17. From Within

Mark 7:1-23

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... positive impact on the world around us. We want to be more loving. We want to be like Jesus. Amen. Prayer of Confession Bring us to the acknowledgement of the source of our actions, O God. Fortify us for taking responsibility for all we do without blaming our environment, heritage, or others. Come into our hearts so that good intentions may come from our hearts. For the sake of Christ. Amen. Hymns "Behold A Broken World" "Lord, I Want To Be A Christian" "Into My Heart" Throughout the month, sing the refrain ...

18. You Upstart!

Job 38:1--41:34

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... God, we wait for you. Amen. Prayer of Confession Sometimes, God, happenings jolt us out of any assumption that we are in control of our life. They shake out of us any last piece of confidence, any final chip of arrogance. Having no one higher to blame in our earthquake, we end up shouting to you, "What are you doing, God?" Then, startled, we begin to listen to your questions. Forgive our conceit. Amen. Hymns "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" "By Whatever Name We Call You" "God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending ...

19. Christ, Our Perfect Redemmer

Hebrews 9:11-28

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... of the world. We praise You, Lord, and ask You to help us share Your Word. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession O Lord, sometimes in our pride we have refused to admit our personal need for redemption. Too often, Lord, we have tried to blame others for our sins and failures rather than be responsible for our own mistakes. Forgive us, Lord, and help us to be more responsible to ourselves, to others, and most importantly, to You. In Christ we pray. Amen. Hymns "He Lives" "Come, Thou Fount" "Lord, I ...

20. What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Acts 16:16-40

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... encounter, you are always with us. So fill our hearts with joy and thanksgiving that we may offer this salvation to all who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Prayer Of Confession O God, when adversity comes upon us, we have often looked to blame someone for our plight. Help us to learn from Paul and Silas that we would better spend our time in prayer and singing hymns to you. Strengthen our faith in your presence through bad times as well as good. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Offertory Prayer ...

21. Do Not Be Discouraged - The Lord Is With You

Haggai 1:1-15

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... Of Confession O God, we are so independent and self-righteous. We think we have all the answers and there is no problem we cannot solve with our own wisdom and experience. When things don't go as we planned, we are quick to find excuses and blame others. Forgive us, Lord, and teach us to rely on you, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, for the wisdom and guidance we need. Amen. Offertory Prayer Heavenly Father, we do not live as independent, isolated individuals, but as part of your family. We bring our ...

22. What Are You Looking At?

Acts 1:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... . Your angels warned us there is enough to do with spreading the gospel across the globe. Still, we admit that occasionally we look over our shoulder, on the off chance that this moment, this instant, is the one in which you return in glory. You can't blame us. But mostly, we're faithful. We bear your gospel now to the world as we carry our cross in imitation of you. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Without any doubt the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, Vindicated in ...

23. Gradually Slipping Away

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... claim as our own, the willful disobedience of God's good will for our lives. Even here there is hope. It is in that hope that we gather to praise the name of the Lord. Amen. Prayer Of Confession May we learn from the sin of our parents not to blame each other, but to take responsibility for our sins, to confess before God, and to believe in the possibility of reconciliation. Amen. Hymns "Love Lifted Me" "Wonderful Grace Of Jesus" "How Great Thou Art"

24. Epiphany 6

Matthew 5:17-37, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; 3:1-23, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 119

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... shall have life. "If" they are rebellious, they will experience death. This implies that life and death are results of meeting certain conditions. This means that we have free will to do one or the other. We are not automatons, not victims of circumstance. We cannot blame God for our fate. Ultimately our condition depends upon the type of "if" we choose. 2. Perish (v. 1). This may be a harsh word. Rather, it is a realistic, factual word. John 3:16 says the same: "should not perish but have everlasting life ...

25. Litmus Test

1 John 4:7-21

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... Lord denigrate other believers and pull down our pastors, work against our leaders and chase away our newcomers, silence our children, discourage our youth, belittle the young adults, ignore the seniors, if we who claim the title of Christian do these things and worse, then can we blame the world for rejecting Christ — or Christ for rejecting us? Let us live by the law of love. Let us live in love. Let us err on the side of love. There is no fear in love. We do not fear, but love. Amen. Hymns Come, Let ...

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