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 1 to 50 of 573 results

1. Hope That Did Not Disappoint

Luke 7:11-17; 18:1-8

Illustration

Theodore F. Schneider

... by the nature of our hope. For Christians, it has to ... of God. Here alone our hope rests, as do all of ... can we talk of a hope that does not disappoint us ... , even if that hope's fulfillment is delayed. The ... a doubt. Never did her hope falter. She knew him in ... whom her hope was fixed. She believed in ... she was not disappointed. Our "hope that does not disappoint us ...

2. A Future Hope Transforms the Present

John 1:1-18

Illustration

... incredible book called "Theology of Hope". This work takes as its ... rooted in a vision of hope. "From first to last, and ... epilogue," wrote Moltmann, "Christianity is hope, forward looking and forward moving ... 's view, to live in hope does not mean that one ... live with a vision of hope gives a person--and the ... in line with that envisioned hope.

3. Living without Hope

Luke 2:21-40

Illustration

Tom Marcum

... caller said, “The loss of hope.” He said that his experience ... . They have simply given up hope. He said, The Great Depression ... side by side in the hope of saving their families. Most ... and have given up the hope of ever having a real ... of all is living without hope.” I agree. It's harder ...

4. Hope in a Dark Spot

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... , to stop talking about hope since in prison, hope is a dangerous ... to live without hope than to have a hope that will torment ... who resisted all talk of hopes or dreams, could not resist ...

5. Christian Hope Had Changed His Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

... beyond the horror to the hope." That tragic day turned around ... the power of the Christian Hope had changed his life. If ... them the gift of Christian Hope. On page after page of ... that when we put our hope in Him, nothing, not even ... comes along to renew our hope and to remind us that ...

6. Yes, There Is Hope

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Bill Self

... Morse code, "Is there any hope?" The diver on the outside ... the sub, "Yes, there is hope." This is the picture of ... we are running low on hope, and we look for a ... . We wonder: Is there any hope?

7. What is Hope?

Mark 9:14-32

Illustration

Edmund L. Hoener

There is a theologian named Victor Havel who defined hope in this way. "Hope," he said, "Is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out." I believe that part of what that means is that hope looks to the intrinsic value of people and of whatever we do. Hope determines the worthwhile-ness of someone or something at the very beginning, so that outcomes become secondary to that person, or that project's very existence.

8. Christmas Means Hope

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... 1969. McCain was giving up hope of ever getting out of ... comfort restored John McCain's hope. The message of Christmas is ... always one of hope. This world needs saving, but ... elevates us. Christmas is about hope of a better world to ...

9. Hoping To Goodness

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Robert Short

Lucy planned a picnic for the next day. She says to Charlie Brown, "I just hope to goodness that it doesn't rain ..." Walking away, Charlie answers, "Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound." Charlie's right. "Hoping to goodness" is not sound. Fixing our hope upon God is.

10. More Hope than We Can Handle

John 20:1-9

Illustration

Craig Barnes

... her desk, packed away her hopes for getting ahead, and wondered ... ." Earlier this week, someone's hope was crucified. And the darkness ... in the dark place where hope cannot be seen. Easter is ... dresses. It's about more hope than we can handle.

11. The POW's Hope

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day ... day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would ... . Such is the power of hope that it can keep one ...

12. Is There Any Hope?

1 Cor 15:14

Illustration

Staff

... -flooded space. They could only hope that help from the world ... with the diver gave them hope, as did the arrival of ... asked, “Is there any hope?” “There is hope. Everything possible is being ...

13. Hope

1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

... butterfly? It was was hope. It is hope that sustains us; it ... is hope that soothes our pain ...

14. Hope in the Citadel of Atheism

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Gary Thomas

... act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely ... who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong ... . She hoped that there was another life ...

15. The Cape of Good Hope

John 20:1-18; Acts 20

Illustration

Pastor Buchs

... to the Cape of Good Hope. Until Jesus Christ rose from ... of storms on which all hopes of life beyond had been ... into a Cape of Good Hope with His appearance and the ...

16. Keeping Hope Alive

Matthew 24:36-44

Illustration

... to keep the flicker of hope alive that I might someday ... practice is what kept my hope alive. Every day I renewed ... my hope that I would one day ...

17. The Hope of the World

Matthew 2:13-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... , "Keep Christ in Christmas." I hope you did that this year ... all that Christ is the hope of the world. It's ... his fleeing parents is the hope of the world.

18. The Cross: A Sign of Hope

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... discouraged that all he could hope for was death. The hard ... that little reminder of the hope and courage we find in ... found the strength and the hope to continue. In today's ...

19. Hope and Despair

Illustration

Thornton Wilder

Hope is a projection of the imagination; so is despair. Despair all too readily embraces the ills it foresees; hope is an energy and arouses the mind to explore every possibility to combat them .... In response to hope the imagination is aroused to picture every possible issue, to try every door, to fit together even the most heterogeneous pieces in the puzzle. After the solution has been found it is difficult to recall the steps taken—so many of them are just below the level of consciousness.

20. What is Possible When there is Hope

John 20:10-18

Illustration

Donald Dotterer

... he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher ... is possible whenever there is hope.

21. The Arrival of Hope

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... sends a shock wave of hope throughout the village. There will ... as one who raised the hopes of the ancient people of ...

22. Don’t Hope…Decide

Mk 10:1-12

Illustration

King Duncan

... days!" Hargrove was stunned. "I hope my marriage is still that ... smiling and said, "Don't hope, friend . . . decide!" And that's ...

23. A Symbol of Hope

Mk 12:38-44

Illustration

King Duncan

... . It was a symbol of hope in the midst of tragedy ... had placed a symbol of hope. These two coins that the ...

24. The World’s Only Hope

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

G. Ray Jordon, Methodist preacher from North Carolina and teacher of preachers at Emory University, wrote years ago, "The hope of civilization is that we shall be able to produce enough Christlike men to save it." That is the world's only hope. It was when Jesus first walked along the Sea of Galilee. It still is today.

25. The Power of Belief in a World of Lost Hope

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... in a world of lost hope. It is about knowing that ...

26. Our Hope, Our Terror

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

... your life upside down. Our hope, through all our own terrors ...

27. The Joy and Hope of Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... Advent is a season of hope. The prophet Isaiah cried out ...

28. Where There's Death, There's Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Robert Deffinbaugh

One woman in the crowd is singled out by the gospel writers. She was a woman who had suffered from some kind of hemorrhage for twelve years. Her suffering was much more than physical, though that would have been enough. She suffered as much from her ‘cures' as she did from her case of bleeding. From various sources we are informed as to the nature of some of these ‘cures.' Pliny's Natural History reveals the generally low condition of medical science in the world at that time. Physicians were accustomed to ...

29. Where Is the Hope?

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Steve Zeisler

... is and what they might hope for in a relationship.

30. Lost Hope

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

King Duncan

... all because they have lost hope. But here is the good ...

31. Loss of Hope is Deadly

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, successor of Sigmund Freud at Vienna, argued that the “loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect on man.” As a result of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl contended that when a man no longer possesses a motive for living, no future to look toward, he curls up in a corner and dies. “Any attempt to restore a man’s inner strength in camp,” he wrote, “had first to succeed in showing him some future goal.”

32. Enough For Fifty Hopes

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... that’s enough for fifty hopes and fears; The Grand Perhaps ...

33. Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Hope

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... a reward. "It gave me hope," said Hoa, who had escaped ...

34. A Garden of Hope

Illustration

Author Unknown

... ’s Garden: A Story of Hope, Michael Foreman tells the story ...

35. Hope for a Lost Cause

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Illustration

Andrea Martin

Summertime is here, so I've taken up gardening. Old hat to many of you, but it's new to me. So a few weeks ago, when a friend told me nasturtium seeds would be easy – a gardener's instant gratification she promised – I decided to start there. I bought nasturtium seeds and potting soil and planted some in a peat pot the size of a small votive candle. I checked a reference book I'd bought and read up on how much water and sunlight the nasturtiums needed. Each day afterwards, I checked for sprouts. After ...

36. Hope From the Grave

Illustration

Warren W. Wiersbe

While waiting in a cemetery to conduct a funeral service, Charles Simeon walked among the graves, looking at the epitaphs. He found one that arrested him. When from the dust of death I rise, To claim my mansion in the skies, E'en then shall this be all my plea "Jesus hath lived and died for me." He was so impressed with that gospel message that he looked for someone in the cemetery with whom he might share it. He saw a young woman, obviously distressed, and called her over to read the epitaph. He took her ...

37. Hope for the Future

Illustration

Michio Kaku

Consider the words of Benjamin Franklin, America’s last great scientist/statesman, when he made a prediction not just about the next century but about the next thousand years. In 1780, he noted with regret that men often acted like wolves toward one another, mainly because of the grinding burden of surviving in a harsh world. He wrote: "It is impossible to imagine the height to which may be carried, in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. We may perhaps learn to deprive large masses of their ...

38. The Storyteller's Creed

Luke 6:17-26

Illustration

Brett Blair

... more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That ... life is about imagination, dreams, hope, laughter, and love. When we ... not cause her to lose hope. There is a church which ...

39. The Ability to Hear - Listening

Acts 2:1-41

Illustration

Will Willimon

... to God and to the hopes, fears, and aspirations of the ... , education, race and class, what hope is there for us ever ...

40. Set Free

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

Brett Blair

... my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!" There ... our soul, giving it light, hope, joy, freedom!

41. Just a Person across the Way

Mt 22:34-46; Mk 12:28-34; Lk 10:25-37; Jn 13:31-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

... really don't. I do hope that people are able to ... me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered ...

42. The Direction We Walk

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... the questioner was critical, and hoped that Bucher would concur and ...

43. Neighborly Prayer

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

King Duncan

... 's heart and gave him hope. One day a children's ... experienced a new sense of hope and self-esteem through this ...

44. The Language of God

Matthew 5:13-16

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... mice and said, "Children, I hope you learned a valuable lesson ... of Grace; the language of hope and love. And when this ...

45. Wrestling with God and Losing

John 9: 1-41

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

... . "You wrestle with God, and hope to win?" "No," said Father ... wrestle with God, and I hope to lose." So may we ...

46. Making the Most of Life

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... I can scatter light and hope and cheer, and help remove ... can make more joy, more hope, less pain, I shall not ...

47. A Point of Contact

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... , living Christ has given us hope. He understands us—our temptations ... help in this life and hope for the life to come ...

48. The Organ

Luke 13:31-35

Illustration

John R. Steward

... . Then one day when all hope was gone, an old man ...

49. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

... is a hospital filled with hope and a lot of life ...

50. The Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

... been brought to pass, every hope have been realized and every ...

Showing results

Showing 1 to 50 of 573 results

1. Hope That Did Not Disappoint

Luke 7:11-17; 18:1-8

Illustration

Theodore F. Schneider

2. A Future Hope Transforms the Present

John 1:1-18

Illustration

3. Living without Hope

Luke 2:21-40

Illustration

Tom Marcum

4. Hope in a Dark Spot

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

5. Christian Hope Had Changed His Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

6. Yes, There Is Hope

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Bill Self

7. What is Hope?

Mark 9:14-32

Illustration

Edmund L. Hoener

8. Christmas Means Hope

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

King Duncan

9. Hoping To Goodness

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Robert Short

10. More Hope than We Can Handle

John 20:1-9

Illustration

Craig Barnes

11. The POW's Hope

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day ... day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would ... . Such is the power of hope that it can keep one ...

12. Is There Any Hope?

1 Cor 15:14

Illustration

Staff

13. Hope

1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

... butterfly? It was was hope. It is hope that sustains us; it ... is hope that soothes our pain ...

14. Hope in the Citadel of Atheism

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Gary Thomas

... act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely ... who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong ... . She hoped that there was another life ...

15. The Cape of Good Hope

John 20:1-18; Acts 20

Illustration

Pastor Buchs

... to the Cape of Good Hope. Until Jesus Christ rose from ... of storms on which all hopes of life beyond had been ... into a Cape of Good Hope with His appearance and the ...

16. Keeping Hope Alive

Matthew 24:36-44

Illustration

... to keep the flicker of hope alive that I might someday ... practice is what kept my hope alive. Every day I renewed ... my hope that I would one day ...

17. The Hope of the World

Matthew 2:13-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... , "Keep Christ in Christmas." I hope you did that this year ... all that Christ is the hope of the world. It's ... his fleeing parents is the hope of the world.

18. The Cross: A Sign of Hope

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... discouraged that all he could hope for was death. The hard ... that little reminder of the hope and courage we find in ... found the strength and the hope to continue. In today's ...

19. Hope and Despair

Illustration

Thornton Wilder

20. What is Possible When there is Hope

John 20:10-18

Illustration

Donald Dotterer

... he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher ... is possible whenever there is hope.

21. The Arrival of Hope

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... sends a shock wave of hope throughout the village. There will ... as one who raised the hopes of the ancient people of ...

22. Don’t Hope…Decide

Mk 10:1-12

Illustration

King Duncan

... days!" Hargrove was stunned. "I hope my marriage is still that ... smiling and said, "Don't hope, friend . . . decide!" And that's ...

23. A Symbol of Hope

Mk 12:38-44

Illustration

King Duncan

... . It was a symbol of hope in the midst of tragedy ... had placed a symbol of hope. These two coins that the ...

24. The World’s Only Hope

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

25. The Power of Belief in a World of Lost Hope

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... in a world of lost hope. It is about knowing that ...

26. Our Hope, Our Terror

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

... your life upside down. Our hope, through all our own terrors ...

27. The Joy and Hope of Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... Advent is a season of hope. The prophet Isaiah cried out ...

28. Where There's Death, There's Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Robert Deffinbaugh

29. Where Is the Hope?

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

Steve Zeisler

... is and what they might hope for in a relationship.

30. Lost Hope

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

King Duncan

... all because they have lost hope. But here is the good ...

31. Loss of Hope is Deadly

Illustration

Michael P. Green

32. Enough For Fifty Hopes

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... that’s enough for fifty hopes and fears; The Grand Perhaps ...

33. Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Hope

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... a reward. "It gave me hope," said Hoa, who had escaped ...

34. A Garden of Hope

Illustration

Author Unknown

... ’s Garden: A Story of Hope, Michael Foreman tells the story ...

35. Hope for a Lost Cause

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Illustration

Andrea Martin

36. Hope From the Grave

Illustration

Warren W. Wiersbe

37. Hope for the Future

Illustration

Michio Kaku

38. The Storyteller's Creed

Luke 6:17-26

Illustration

Brett Blair

39. The Ability to Hear - Listening

Acts 2:1-41

Illustration

Will Willimon

... to God and to the hopes, fears, and aspirations of the ... , education, race and class, what hope is there for us ever ...

40. Set Free

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

Brett Blair

... my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!" There ... our soul, giving it light, hope, joy, freedom!

41. Just a Person across the Way

Mt 22:34-46; Mk 12:28-34; Lk 10:25-37; Jn 13:31-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

... really don't. I do hope that people are able to ... me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered ...

42. The Direction We Walk

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

... the questioner was critical, and hoped that Bucher would concur and ...

43. Neighborly Prayer

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

King Duncan

... 's heart and gave him hope. One day a children's ... experienced a new sense of hope and self-esteem through this ...

44. The Language of God

Matthew 5:13-16

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... mice and said, "Children, I hope you learned a valuable lesson ... of Grace; the language of hope and love. And when this ...

45. Wrestling with God and Losing

John 9: 1-41

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

... . "You wrestle with God, and hope to win?" "No," said Father ... wrestle with God, and I hope to lose." So may we ...

46. Making the Most of Life

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... I can scatter light and hope and cheer, and help remove ... can make more joy, more hope, less pain, I shall not ...

47. A Point of Contact

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... , living Christ has given us hope. He understands us—our temptations ... help in this life and hope for the life to come ...

48. The Organ

Luke 13:31-35

Illustration

John R. Steward

... . Then one day when all hope was gone, an old man ...

49. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

... is a hospital filled with hope and a lot of life ...

50. The Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

... been brought to pass, every hope have been realized and every ...

Showing results