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 2046 results

1. The Wrong Gift

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... the angels to the shepherds that even in those times of relative calm, the greater gift of divine peace was needed by humankind and could be brought only through Jesus. Who were these shepherds? We think of boys in their dads' bathrobes play-acting in Christmas pageants. And through nostalgic eyes we see little boy David on the hillsides of ancient Judah. By the days of Jesus' birth, shepherds had become the outsiders of society. They were considered ritually impure, socially inept, thieves and robbers, and ...

2. A Little Dirt Is Good for You

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... of professional baseball: “I was in awe,” says Sandberg, “every time I walked onto the field. That’s respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponents or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. You make a great play, act like you’ve done it before; get a big hit, look for the third base coach and get ready to run the bases.” Sandberg motioned to those inducted before him, “These guys sitting up here did not pave the way for the rest of us ...

3. Miracle On Main Street by Dr. George A. Buttrick

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... on the street. The blood spurted when he cut his hand, and his blood had the same constitution as your blood. Don’t say, "He knew all along that he was the Son of God." That turns his temptation into shadow-boxing, and even his death into play-acting. "The Word became the skin on your bones." How come we ever think about him? He wasn’t popular. He warned us against that cosmetic: "Woe to you when all men speak well of you." He pardoned prostitutes. He healed slobbering lunatics. He touched lepers. He ...

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

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

Sermon

... 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 fake. No play-acting will do, for the stakes are high, the times are dangerous, and God needs a people to be like him.

5. The Four Marks of Failure

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... joined with dozens of homeless persons outside the New York Stock Exchange. The festivities began with the blowing of the biblical shofar the ram's horn used to sound the beginning of the Jubilee Year, a time of wealth redistribution. Dressed up and play-acting as professionals, tourists, bike messengers, and bohemians, they than began to empty pockets and bags filled with money, letting $10,000 worth of one-and two-dollar bills and coins loose on the streets and in the winds (with the word "love" written ...

6. When We Feel Lost

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... eaten the pods that the pigs are eating. Finally, Luke tells us, “he comes to himself.” He heads back home with his tail between his legs. He is hungry and hurting. Home is starting to look awfully good. However, is he truly penitent or is he simply posing, play-acting, so he can worm himself back into his father’s good graces? We don’t know. Since this is a parable and not a real life incident, there is no follow-up. We can only imagine that he is heading home for good. Or maybe not! Some of you ...

7. Colorizing Jesus

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Carl Jech

... a new theory! There was no cross at calvary. There were only nails. There was no body. There were only clothes. You see, they hung the clothes on the nails ... And this is important for us today!" Although totally spontaneous, this little episode of play-acting was a superb statement of the danger we face when we deal with the fact that the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus. The fact that there are dangers, however, cannot prevent us from coming to terms with the tension between Jesus as an historical ...

8. Got Milk?

1 Peter 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... we need to get, we must first of all lay aside anything that would hinder our relationships with other people. Malice refers to bitterness, hard feelings, and carrying grudges. Deceit refers to dishonesty, being two-faced, and having hidden agendas. Hypocrisy simply means play acting, hiding behind a mask and pretending to be something you're not. Envy is resenting what someone has and also resenting that you don't have what they have. Evil Speaking is gossip and slander. If any of these things or all of ...

9. Christ the Apple Tree

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the enemies of winter's white death" (64-66). While we have lost the medieval church tradition of celebrating "Adam and Eve Day" on December 24, we yet retain some of its character in our own Christmas tree rituals. On Adam and Eve Day common people play-acted the story of Adam and Eve. But before the presentation, the actors would parade through town with "Adam" carrying the Tree of Life on which apples were hung. Thus the first "Christmas trees" were born. It is fitting to look back to this ancient Adam ...

10. Partners with the Divine

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... another, but to be a blessing to the world around us. I know that we are deeply linked in this common purpose, so much so that John’s language makes sense. Partnership with the divine goes beyond our religiosity. It is deeper than our play-acting at church and it is more powerful than our own private agendas. Like all good partnerships, this one comes to fruition in common purpose. When we partner with God to care for creation by working against pollution and environmental degradation, we are in common ...

11. How to Play Fair in Foul Play

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We have all felt the sting and bite of unjust treatment and criticism. Sometimes it feels like no matter what we do, we can't win. So why try? What's the use! The people who are criticizing you aren't out there on the road, spending their time and money in trying to do the right thing. They're just sitting around, holding meetings, and backbeating one another. How can the Christian play fair amid foul play? Sitting down in a civilized manner to determine just how brutal we may act during the uncivilized ...

12. Playing One Hand

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Tom Garrison

In the beginning of any really significant human endeavor, be it a marriage or parenthood or a business venture, there is usually a high level of idealism and hope. We expect to do the thing we are beginning with great success. This was certainly true of Jesus' ministry. Who can read how he emerged out of Galilee saying, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe the good news," and not sense the excitement and anticipation that was present in that act of beginning? And ...

13. Divine Liturgy, Divine Play, Divine Comedy

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Carl Jech

My dear children, I am only to be with you a little longer. You will seek me; (but) "Where I am going you cannot come." A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you. (John 13:33-34) Has it occurred to you that in those parts of the United States where it comes on at 11:30 p.m., "Saturday Night Live" is also Sunday Morning Live? It might be good if we could bring a little more of the humor of that show with us to church on Sunday mornings. The skits on Saturday Night ...

14. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

It was an incredible military breakthrough. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Joe Rochefort broke the Japanese codes. From an intelligence base on Oahu, he predicted an attack on Midway Island for June 3, 1942. Because of Rochefort's skill, the United States surprised the Japanese Navy with its first defeat in 350 years. Four carriers were lost, one cruiser, 2500 men, 322 aircraft, and the best of their pilots. The tide turned in the Pacific; Japan never recovered momentum. Commander ...

15. Playing Golf at Midnight

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

A man named Charley Boswell was blinded in World War II while rescuing a buddy from a burning tank. Charley had always been a great athlete so, after the war, he took up golf. And he was astoundingly good at it. In short, Charley Boswell won the National Blind Golf Championship 16 times, once shooting a score of 81. In 1958 Charley went to Ft. Worth, Texas to receive the coveted Ben Hogan Award in honor of one of the greatest professional golfers in history. Mr. Hogan agreed to play a round of golf with ...

16. All The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

Is it tomorrow, or is it still yesterday? In the cartoon, Dennis the Menace is tugging at his dad's covers, and Mr. Mitchell is trying to lift one eyelid. Dennis wants to know, "Is it tomorrow yet? Or is it still yesterday?" It's a profound question. Something like that -- some 2000-year-old Aramaic version of it anyway -- must have been in the minds of the women on their way to the tomb. In fact, they went to the tomb fully expecting to find yesterday, and instead found tomorrow. They went expecting death ...

17. The Play's Playbook for the Game of Life

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is known simply as “The Play.” “The Play” is the name of the greatest game of football ever played--anywhere, anytime. Can anyone here this morning tell me who played in “The Play?” Right: California vs. Stanford. Can anyone tell me the year of “The Play.?” Right: 1982. Can anyone tell me what was so special about “The Play?” Right: With 53 seconds left in the game, Stanford was down 17-19, stuck in their own backfield. It was fourth down, 17 yards to go. But miraculously the Stanford QB (anyone? . . . ...

18. Playing By A Different Set Of Rules

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Obscenity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. With words to that effect more than two decades ago the Supreme Court of the United States of America left the decisions regarding pornography in the hands of local communities. During the intervening years states and cities have struggled with the issue, desiring to uphold the basic rights of freedom of speech and expression, and at the same time attempting to establish and maintain what is decent and acceptable to the majority. The latest entry to ...

19. The Gift of Wisdom

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

It's a miracle that you're here this morning! I suspect, though, that what I mean is not the first thing that came to your mind. I sense someone thinking, "The first Sunday after Easter! You bet it's a miracle. They don't call this Low Sunday for nothing!" Someone else is thinking, "Any morning I get up after a busy week and can still get the kids going and fed and dressed and to church, I've accomplished a miracle!" Or "You bet it's a miracle I'm here. I'd fully intended to go play ball, but my Dad made ...

20. Playing A Role Or Being A Truth

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The text for the message this morning, along with the scripture lesson that has already been read is from the Book of Romans, the 12th chapter. Its one of those signal passages in the New Testament that many of you know by heart. The first two verses of the 12th chapter. This is the word of the Lord. I appeal to you therefore brothers and sisters by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, who is your spiritual worship. And be not conformed to the ...

21. Act III, Scene 2

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John M. Braaten

Each year we in the church are involved in a great drama. Although the script is ancient, thousands of years old, its message is as new as today and as hopeful as tomorrow. It has been played out on countless stages throughout the world, and the story is so incredible that in spite of its constant retelling, it never grows stale, is never irrelevant. It is always fresh, always worth hearing and it always brings healing and strength. Act I, Scene 1 of this churchwide drama began with the season of Advent as ...

22. How Do You Act In The Presence Of The Queen?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Associated Press, Dateline, Washington, D.C.: A woman in our nation's capitol welcomed Queen Elizabeth II into her home in a warm and beautiful way. She gave her a hug. This simple act made headlines around the world because British protocol forbids commoners from touching a monarch. The queen, accompanied by first lady Barbara Bush and Washington Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon, visited 67-year-old retiree Alice Frazier's home in an area formerly plagued by drugs and crime but now rehabilitated. It was on this ...

23. The Witch of Endor

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

We have been thrilled and enchanted by the weird conversation of the three sisters on the gloomy heath in ancient Scotland: When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightening, or in rain? When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won, That will be ere the set of sun. Where the place? Upon the heath There to meet with Macbeth.1 Later in the play we have the incantation and recipe for the brew which will cast a spell over the Scottish Thane: Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and ...

24. Phoebe

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs," scoffed Samuel Johnson. "It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."1 Had the celebrated man of letters known Phoebe, he would never have made that unfortunate statement; he also would have escaped the wrath of thousands of effective, dedicated preachers. Who is Phoebe? Only a single sentence in the New Testament reveals any information. Her appearance on life’s stage is all too brief, but appear she does - a woman ...

25. Acting on Faith

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

You’ve probably heard the ridiculous story about the man who was refused entry into a fancy dinner club because he wasn’t wearing a tie. The doorman sent him away with instructions to return if, and only if, he had a tie wrapped around his neck. The fellow rummaged through his car, but couldn’t find a necktie. However, he did find a pair of jumper cables in the trunk. He decided to fashion a necktie from those jumper cables. He returned to the door of the club. The doorman saw those jumper cables around ...

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