Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: take action, take steps, take measures, take the initiative, move, make a move, react, do something, proceed, go ahead, behave, function, perform, operate, work, take effect, serve, be efficacious, play, play a part, take part, be an actor, be an actress, be one of the cast, appear, pretend, play-act, sham, fake, feign, put it on, bluff, pose, posture, masquerade, dissemble, dissimulate, deed, action, gesture, feat, exploit, performance, undertaking, maneuver, stunt, operation, venture, effort, enterprise, achievement, accomplishment, law, decree, statute, bill, Act of Parliament, edict, fiat, dictum, dictate, enactment, resolution, ruling, rule, judgement, canon, ordinance, proclamation, command, commandment, mandate, measure, stipulation, direction, requirement, division, section, subsection, portion, part, segment, component, bit, turn, routine, number, item, piece, sketch, skit, playlet, dance, song, pretense, false display, show, front, facade, charade, guise, affectation, appearance

Antonyms: do nothing

Showing 1 to 25 of 224 results

1. Faking It or Making It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... one’s self to God is the first step in an authentic new life. Does God rule your life or are you, like Phil, simply faking it? But there is a second step to a new life and it is even more challenging. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must ... and all the world go free? No there’s a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me.” But some of us are just faking it. The story is told of a worker in an inner-city mission who had given many years to a most discouraging ministry. A friend came ...

2. Fake News? No! Fake Religion

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... the baby would arrive. Every one of his colleagues had placed a bet on when the happy occasion would occur. The interest in his affairs really concerned no more than a greedy desire to win the office pool. (3) I’m not going to ask if you have ever faked interest in someone because it was good business or simply out of courtesy. All of us are guilty of such interest sometime or another. All of us are guilty of some hypocrisy. I got a chuckle from an ad that appeared in a small college town paper during the ...

3. Fake News vs. Fantastic Good News

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... God. (5) Johnny wasn’t healed of all his grief. He didn’t receive some supernatural answer about his brother’s death. Instead, he received the presence and comfort of God, and it allowed him to go on living with renewed hope and determination. This isn’t fake news. This is fantastic good news. God has placed us in a world where we sometimes must struggle mightily against forces we don’t understand, but God doesn’t leave us alone. God is with us and, if we will let Him, God will use those times ...

4. How Can You Tell A Christian?

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... hand. His wife withdrew it, saying with deep sadness, "Herbert, you are not a believer. Your cruelty and callousness throughout the forty years of our marriage tells me that your faith is an illusion." (4) Ouch, that hurts. There are some things in life you cannot fake. How do people know that we are Christians? By our love. Love is our primary witness to our faith in Jesus Christ. How sad it is that so many who bear Christ's name have never reconciled themselves to that one basic principle. Are we giving ...

5. Having the Right Connection

John 15:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... , or spend all your paycheck on your own needs. You’re going to pay close attention to your children’s needs, and budget wisely to provide for them. In our lesson for today, Jesus gives us our “birth certificate”—our identity—and it’s not a fake one like the child-of-Elvis certificate. Jesus reveals the source of our identity, and it is out of this identity that we find hope and strength and the foundation for our lives. “I am the vine,” said Jesus, “and you are the branches.” Have you ...

6. Get Real

John 15:1-11, 16

Sermon

James Merritt

... . What is her job? She is an independent researcher for the film industry. For anyone who wants their movie to be truly authentic, not fake, the movie to be accurate and the facts to be reliable, all you have to do is send your script and a sizeable check ... You can only bear fruit and the way you bear fruit is by simply staying connected to the vine. Being real is not something you fake on the outside - it is something that flows from the inside. All a branch has to do to be fruitful is to stay connected. All ...

7. More Than a Popularity Contest

Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

King Duncan

... created. It was a recorded loop of pre-taped audience laughter that was then played at appropriate spots in other shows to convince audience members that the shows were funnier than they actually were. (1) There’s even a company in Los Angeles that provides fake crowds of adoring fans and paparazzi for a price. The company is called Crowds on Demand. And if you want to spend even more money with them, they can provide a luxury automobile and bottles of champagne, and drive you to the swankiest shopping ...

8. Equipped for Our Calling

Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... mouth. He claimed that two men had knocked him out, and when he woke up, he was lying beside the water tower where police found him. But in their subsequent investigation, police could find no other evidence of the kidnapping. Finally, during a police interview, Soules admitted that he faked his own kidnapping in order to get out of going to work. (2) We all need a day off sometimes, but that’s an extreme way of dealing with it. On the other end of the spectrum are people who may not be ready to take on a ...

9. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... 's-feet. Are we serious? Are the "signs" of accomplishment really accounting for personal and professional success? Do we give authority to people according to the signs we see? Apparently so. Our generation has witnessed the remarkable marketing of bogus signs. A $35.00 fake Rolex watch can be bought on any street corner in downtown Manhattan. The weight of the wristband and the movement of the second hand are the only differences which distinguish it from the real thing. Oh, as I found out a few years ago ...

10. The Christian’s Style - 1960

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... quite that way. We had quite a controversy some time ago when somebody gave two wonderful Rembrandts to the art museum in Detroit. So we all went and ooohed and ah-h-d and thought they were wonderful. Then a couple of Philistines came in and said, "Fakes." What do you mean fakes? "They are not originals." How do you know. So the press had a great time and we all took sides. Then they sent for a couple of experts. Now, an expert is just somebody from way off, you know. They got two fellows from New York, and ...

11. Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... of running around that track day after day, seven days a week, with others chasing that rabbit. Well, one day, I got up close; I got a good look at that rabbit. It was a fake! I had spent my whole life chasing a fake rabbit! Hey, I didn’t retire; I quit!” (5) Is that how you feel about your life, that you’ve been chasing a fake rabbit? Isn’t it time you gave yourself to something more? There are millions of people in our land who will tell you they are bored to tears with their life. That poor guy ...

12. God's Christmas Tree

1 Peter 2:24

Sermon

James Merritt

... full time in the Christmas tree industry. More than 1 million acres of land in this country are dedicated just to planting Christmas trees. Roughly 21% of United States households will have a real tree in their home this year versus 48% that will have a fake tree. [1] We cannot even imagine in this day and age celebrating Christmas without a richly decorated Christmas tree. It just doesn't seem right, but have you ever wondered why we have a Christmas tree and how it originated and whether or not there is ...

13. Making the Most of Small Beginnings

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... that track, day after day, race after race, chasing that rabbit. Then one day I got close enough to get a good look at the thing. It was then I discovered that rabbit was a fake. I had spent my whole life chasing a fake rabbit. I didn't retire, I quit!" If you are tired of plowing the same old ground, chasing the same fake rabbit, enduring the same routine, wake up, be alert, watch! The Kingdom of Heaven, the greatest treasure on earth, may be closer than you think. You, who have ears to hear, hear! IV. THE ...

14. Which Mask Will You Wear?

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... harmony. But not a sound came forth. It turned out that all four were filling in for friends who were trombonists! They were all pretenders, and so there was no trombone quartet that night. (7) This is a reminder of the one thing that cannot be faked. It is service service to Christ and to other people. How will other people know we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ? By our love, by our service to others. After Jesus points out the grievous behavior of the Pharisees, Jesus concludes with what is really ...

15. Let Your Diamond-Light Shine

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The diamond is so brilliant because its tight carbon construction absorbs all the other colors and reflects back only gray, making it dazzling in any light. Any so-called “diamond” which reflects a rainbow of colors is either inferior or just plain fake. Jesus brought his disciples to the mountaintop to witness the Transfiguration so that they too might be able to reflect that “dazzling” light out to this world. But that light was not reflected to a place. That light was a person. That “light ...

16. Everyone Is Looking for You

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... 10 years as a professional, racing greyhound. That means 10 years of running around that track day after day, seven days a week with others chasing that rabbit. Well, one day, I got up close; I got a good look at that rabbit. It was a fake! I had spent my whole life chasing a fake rabbit! Hey, I didn’t retire; I quit!” (2) Well, no wonder that dog quit, and was eager to tell Fred why. I hope no one in this room can relate to that greyhound. But there are many people who can relate. They’re spending ...

17. A Divided Family

Mark 3:20-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... the story is preserved in a jumble of eye-witness testimonies that agree only on the most important fact--that Christ certainly was resurrected from the grave--but give different accounts of how that truth was discovered. We live in a time of fake news and “spin,” perpetrated by slick communicators who make sure they get their narrative straight and in agreement with others who are spinning the same story before it is presented to the public. It is particularly humorous to watch reporters trying to get ...

18. The Gathering at Cana

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... last 15 years, they have probably purchased at least one counterfeit wine,’ she laments. And though she gives viewers brief insight into her work, she also admits, ‘You have to have looked at tens of millions of dollars of real wine to be able to spot a fake.’ You could say she really gets to the bottom of a bottle of wine.”** In the scripture story today, we have a case involving, not missing wine, but the appearance of “new wine!” And it’s an outstanding fine wine! You might even call it the ...

19. Can You Deny Yourself?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... on self-protection. How could Jesus ask us to die to our self? What’s so wrong about putting our self first? The influence of social media has made our desire for image and wealth and self-gratification even more difficult. There are now businesses that sell fake backdrops to make it appear on your social media site that you are living a luxurious and exciting lifestyle, even if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. A Los Angeles photo studio charges $64 an hour to rent one of their spaces that is set up ...

20. A Caring Woman

Acts 9:36-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... of domestic violence, but few of us take direct action to improve their situation. However, a Polish high school student named Krystyna used her skills and resources to get help for people in dangerous home situations. She set up a fake online cosmetics store. Listen carefully: Here’s how this fake site worked. A woman “shopping” on this site could make a request for help without alerting her partner to her actions. If a woman places her order and types in an address, that is a sign that she needs a ...

21. Living at Cross-Purposes

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... away and admit that we weren’t prepared to give our best effort. That’s not an easy choice to make, is it? Back in 2019, history professors in the U.K. translated a letter from the 14th century about a nun named Joan of Leeds who faked her own death to get out of her commitment to the church. William Melton, the Archbishop of York, wrote the letter in 1318 that describes Joan, with the help of accomplices, escaping the convent. The archbishop wrote that Joan “crafted a dummy in the likeness of her ...

22. Fox in the Henhouse

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... killed Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist three years earlier. Now he’s told by some of the Pharisees that Herod has a mark on Jesus’ own head as well. Jesus is not surprised. Jesus sees Herod as a two-faced coward, selfish, manipulative, underhanded, and a “fake Jew.” Herod acts the Jew when he wants Jerusalem’s favor. He pretends to be one of them, all the while serving his own needs for money, attention, power, and perks from the Roman government. He’s polite and acts the part of liaison with ...

23. The Master Has Come - And Is Moved With Compassion

Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

... feel the pain of love in our hearts. For many years Anton Lang played the part of Christ in the passion play at Oberammergau. One day a friend was looking around the set. He saw the Cross, and tried to pick it up. He thought it would have been a fake cross. But, it was made of real timbers. He said, "Why is it so heavy? How do you carry that cross?" Lang answered, "If I did not feel the weight of his cross, I could not play his part." Compassion is something we cannot ...

24. Counterfeit Christians and the Rest of Us

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... dollars as well. The title of this sermon is "Counterfeit Christians and the Rest of Us." If you and I are busy seeing everyone else as fakes and we spend much of our time exposing their phoniness, then we do not have time to look at our own failures do we? Someone has ... , counterfeits teach us something else. If there is an imitation, then there must be a genuine counterpart. There are fake diamonds because there are real diamonds of great value. There is "fools gold" because there is real gold that is ...

25. Our Exclusive God (The First Commandment)

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... status can be silly. You know how neat the driver looks rolling down 1-40 in his BMW talking on his cellular phone. Well, some company is offering a deal that will make you appear to be doing the same. For only $19 they will sell you a fake phone and a fake antenna. Over 200,000 folks have bought this deal. Our worship of status may be laughable but it is never benign. When we worship our racial identity, we have to concoct myths to explain why other groups aren't as worthy as we are. When we worship our ...

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