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 365 results

1. Dolphin Drops

Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... s that support that holds us up and keeps us straight. It's that support that is the real self, beyond any and all poses we may strike. In today's Isaiah text the prophet reveals the two basic elements that make up the inner core, the essential character ... eunuch as a patriarch, a foreigner as an Israelite. And no one has to worry about striking a fanciful or faked up pose – as long as the interior guide of mishpat (justice) and tzedekah (righteousness) remain straight and unshaken at the center of their ...

2. A Tale Of Two Brothers

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... the rink. She was all appearance and no substance. (2) For many of us, that hits too close to home. We may look like followers of Jesus, we may even talk like followers of Jesus, but deep in our hearts we know it's only stretching and posing, stretching and posing. CAN YOU SAY THAT JESUS IS TRULY THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE? Doc Sanders was a country doctor in McNairy County, Tennessee. Doc lived a simple lifestyle. He wore shabby clothes. He was known for his long prayers in church. One day a young man in Doc ...

3. Calming Of The Tempest

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . The water splashing all over his face doesn’t disturb him. Doesn’t he care? Teacher, don’t you care if we drown? Doesn’t God care about what I am going through? The sudden furious storm outside may be overwhelming but what is going on inside can pose the greater threat to our lives. Who will calm the tempest? Who will the waves obey, “Quiet, be still!” II Storms can come suddenly and they can make you lose direction. That’s the second thing we learn from this boat ride in the storm. We can ...

4. A Tragic Waste

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... that you have seen body builders in. "No, you don't understand me," said Merv. "What do you use all those muscles for?" The guy said, "I'll show you." And he flexed again, posing in another way. "No. No. You still do not understand my question," Merv asked insistantly. "Read my lips. What do you use them for?" And the guy posed again. (3) He still did not understand. All those muscles, but no apparent use for them except for display. You have a gift that God has bestowed upon you. How are you using it? 1 ...

5. Holy Extravagance

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... attempt to talk our way out of it and away from it at our own peril. Our correct response is appreciation, gratitude, and teachability. Our Lord says to come and learn from him because he is the way, the truth, and the life. We are taught that those who pose for good are dangerous. Poor Judas Iscariot, but let's take him for what he is. Was he really thinking about people in poverty? That has already been answered for us. All of this perfume that could bring in tons of money and you waste it on Jesus' feet ...

6. Putting Eternity to the Test

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' " In other words, he teaches them that the question they pose is irrelevant to their argument. Implicit in his quoting from the book of the Exodus is the reality that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ... again?" (Job 14:14). You see our eternal future directly affects our earthly future. So we start with Job. If you think about it, the question posed by Job is really not a difficult one to answer. The question is not so much, "If we die." We are going to die, that is ...

7. Love in Action

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... 's not just talk about love; let's practice real love." We need to look a little closer at that very blunt question that John poses: "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses ... s a marvelous story about Robert De Vincenzo, the famous golfer from Argentina. Once when he won a tournament, he received his check and posed for pictures. He did all the things the victor does after a golf tournament. Then as he was walking alone to his car in ...

8. A Faith that Will Bring You Alive

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him . . .” (Job 19:23-27) According to the Sadducees, there was no such thing as life beyond the grave. So the question they posed to Jesus is quite surprising. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married ...

9. An Extremely Odd Couple

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... parable not only encouraged them to be patient, but it gave them a basis for their hope. Ironically, they could see in the character of the judge the basis for their hope. They grasped the truth that God is not like the judge. Jesus himself makes the point by posing a question which sets the character of God in stark contrast to that of the judge: "Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them ...

10. The Condition Of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... The Pursuit of Happiness. The book has 59 pages of references and a 43-page bibliography. This large number of citations clearly demonstrates that many people have had much to say on that elusive subject called "happiness." The central question that Dr. Myers poses is this one: Who is happy, and why are they happy? He then frames the question in a more detailed way: "What traits of personality, what circumstances of life, what states of mind correlate with well-being -- with that joyful, and joy-spreading ...

11. Jesus, The Mad Man

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Erskine White

... and then you watch "normal" or "healthy" people kill each other in a brutal war, and it makes you think that maybe the asylum is the only sane place and the rest of the world has lost its mind. Who is mad and who is sane? That same question is posed by our text this morning. The "normal" people in the village of Nazareth looked at Jesus and called Him mad. "He is beside Himself," they said. "He is possessed by demons. He has lost His mind!" It doesn't really fit our image of Jesus - the picture we have of ...

12. Where Have All The Visible Miracles Gone?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... healing services? After all, Jesus did it, so why should not we, his followers? Why are we not speaking in tongues this morning? What has happened to our faith in the great glory and miraculous power of God? Questions like these are being posed to us Roman Catholics as well as to many mainline Protestant denominations by the charismatic movement. Basically charismatics say that the rest of us Christians have been so modernized and sophisticated that we are a bit embarrassed by the Bible and the tradition ...

13. Are There Any Questions?

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

... the temple at Jerusalem, his disciples are at hand, and in the crowd his enemies as well. The question-answer period begins. One by one those who oppose him for one reason or another challenge him with questions carefully contrived to trap, expose, and destroy him. The first is posed by scribes and elders and the chief priests of the temple: "Tell us by what authority you do these things, and who gave you that authority." Next in line are spies who had been sent out by the chief priests and the scribes, who ...

14. You Figure It Out

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

... , and still more factors. In other words, the answer depends on how the question is shaped. Therefore, I will not give a final answer. You wrestle with the question. You figure it out." Jesus had, in fact, said that both choices which the Pharisees had posed were accurate possible answers. God deserves what is his. Caesar (or, the government) deserves what is his. But Jesus’ answer raises more questions: How do you know what is God’s? How can you tell where Caesar’s due begins and ends? Why is there ...

15. Call Him a Story Teller

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

George Bass

... , I never preached a single sermon against killing civilians. On Judgment Day," said that Catholic chaplain, Father Zabelka, "I think I am going to need to seek more mercy than justice in this matter." At last Bishop Mattheissen became aware of the threat that the Bomb posed to the bodies and souls of people, and with deep concern, a radical change took place in him. "What of me?" he asks. "For thirty-three years I lived and continue to live at the very portals of Pantex, and for those thirty-three years I ...

16. Who Do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , Son of Man, Son of God, Divine Physician, king, prophet, bridegroom, Light of the world, the door, the vine, high priest, the firstborn of creation, the bright and morning star, and Alpha and the Omega. All of these were attempts to answer this question posed by Jesus. But these are attempts made by others. Jesus is more concerned what your answer is than what their answer is. Martin Luther, the German theologian, wrote: “I care not whether he be Christ, but that he be Christ for you.” Peter responded ...

17. The Terrible Tree

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

George Bass

Jesus had to die, according to the religious leaders of Jerusalem, because his continued existence posed a serious threat to their system of religious beliefs and worship in their God’s ... this man, but Barabbas!" John says it was the chief priests and officers of the Jews who actually cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate did just that. Jesus posed no threat to the continued Roman occupation of Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land; Pilate was well aware of that. The Jews knew it too. Anyone ...

18. The Word To The Wise

Proverbs 2:1-22

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... that "Christ is the answer." What for? That depends on what the question is, and for most questions that are posed, Christ is not the answer. Common sense may be the answer. Learning gathered from the books of specialists may be ... we are given our new status as God’s children once again. Let the problems now step forward to confront us, and let the puzzles pose along the way, and let us walk the valley of decisions. We are children of the heavenly Father now, free to struggle with responsibility, free ...

19. Was The President's Advisor's Sin Really That Bad?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... to have shared with her national secrets. Assuming there was some truth to these allegations, we might ask the question, Was what he did so wrong? Is it a sin to be involved with a prostitute? Now you are probably thinking to yourself what an absurd question to be posed from the pulpit. Maybe so, but I am convinced that there are a lot of people who do not know the answer to that question. As a society, we are so confused morally that there seems to be no national consensus as to what is right and what is ...

20. People Who Dread Christmas

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... God saying to Mother Teresa, "Teresa, I was really expecting a lot more out of you." (2) Does God grade on a curve? Good question. Does God forgive little white lies? How much should you give to the down-and-out? Salvation based on good works poses more questions than answers. That is one group that may not be able to abide Christ's coming ” those who substitute works for worship. But there is another group that will not fare very well on the day of His coming: THOSE WHO VALUE RELIGION OVER RELATIONSHIPS ...

21. Grace: Amazing or Mystifying?

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... alone; not by anything we’ve done, but by God’s grace. It’s settled then. We all agree on the basic foundation of the Christian life. Well, not quite. There are still many unanswered questions. The most important question is one posed by a Christian comedian, Emo Philips. He meant it in jest, but the question posed by his jest is a good one. Here is what he said, “When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way . . . so I stole one ...

22. But Wait! There's More!

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... That’s a remarkable story. Sixteen rebuffs and he had to climb down a chimney before she accepted his proposal. That story’s almost as extraordinary as a riddle that some of the Sadducees posed for Jesus. As we tell this story we need to remember that the Sadducees did not believe in life beyond the grave. Still, they posed this question for the Master. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have ...

23. Keep Going, Today, Tomorrow and the Next

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... his death. According to the alternative gospel reading (Luke 9:28-36), Jesus is coming off a mountaintop experience of revelation we call the Transfiguration. Jesus quickly left that moment behind, setting out on the dusty road to Jerusalem. Jesus refused to remain posed in some heavenly abode (tableaux), poised in some applauding environment (milieux). He was transfigured but he would not be transfixed. He knew the fulfillment of his mission lay elsewhere. When the Pharisees warned Jesus about the dangers ...

24. The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... , and even bark like a dog. Paradoxically, in his/her weakness, the baby has great power. But the wife and the competitors in all their power, really are quite weak. Of course, some of you are likely to object, saying the baby posed no threat to the father. Therefore, he could let down his guard. His little child appealed to his love of life, rather than to his competitive instincts; stimulated his true humanity, penetrated to his heart of love; and called forth his sense of wonder and mystery and his joy ...

25. One Breathwork, Many Bodyworks

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of power" to all the world. How tribal are you? Try honestly responding to the hypothetical question one African-American professor posed to some students. Suppose, he posited, that a group of aliens suddenly showed up on earth offering an interesting proposal. ... their home planet. What would you say to this proposal? What do you think your neighbors would say to this proposal? Try posing this question in an adult study group. Break up into small groups to continue to discuss it. Reform your larger group and ...

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