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 25 of 154 results

1. I'll Be Somewhere Listening

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... a model of faith in the midst of very difficult circumstances. Eli gave up his interests to trust the will of God. This Old Testament text speaks to us at the very heart of our faith. God's will and purpose in our lives is very often a call to relinquish our plans and our dreams for a higher good. Doing God's will often means the giving up or the laying down of something we wanted to grasp or control. A pastor friend of mine tells the story of his church organist who was very accomplished. An organist moved ...

2. Hope Against Hope

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... we put our faith not in success, not in power politics, not in intrigue, but in the God who "... has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:52). This text gives us the same challenge given to Israel -- to let go, to relinquish the past. We are like the Israelites, who lusted after the gods, "who said to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'you gave me birth' " (2:27). Only we have said it to machines and missiles, to gadgets and guns, to merchandise and malls ...

3. The Spirit of Cross Pointe

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... that is. What does it look like? What does it mean? Well, the spirit of Cross Pointe must be… I. A Spirit That Is Willing To Relinquish Personal Preferences "and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under ... need to hear the Gospel and respond in order to be saved, but to do that we need a spirit that is willing to relinquish personal preferences. II. A Spirit That Is Willing To Release Personal Privileges "When I am with the Gentiles, who do not have the ...

4. Called To Pull Down; Called To Rebuild

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... and sought to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff; but Jesus passed through them and went on his way (Luke 4:29-30). The gracious words of God are a free gift; we are not entitled to them; we cannot lay claim to them ourselves. If we cannot relinquish our pride and autonomy, if we cannot hear both law and gospel, then Jesus will pass through our midst and be on his way. Like Jeremiah, we are between a rock and a hard place. If we cannot accept and proclaim the law of God, then we stand under God ...

5. The Scope Of The Spirit

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... the Israelites off into exile and this was the beginning of what is called the Babylonian captivity. Walter Brueggemann in Hopeful Imagination, declares that 587 B.C. is the most important date in the Old Testament. He said for Israel it was a time of relinquishment and reception. Relinquishment in the sense that it was the end of the known world for Israel. The city and temple are destroyed. It is a time of letting go. Things will never be as they were. At the same time it was a moment for reception, to ...

6. Prayers for Memorial Day, Election, Thanksgiving

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... share much of what we have, as well as the energy and labor of our days. If we can succeed arm in arm with each other and with you, what a day of glory that will be! This is the dream we follow. This is the dream we dare not relinquish. Hear our words offered through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Election Day O God, as our country moves closer to the time of elections, we are drowning in a sea of promises. We are reminded that being honest, totally honest, may be the work of a lifetime. It ...

7. Letting Go

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... we let go of those with whom we have experienced the world, when we let go of those places with which we have been associated, when we let go of those beliefs which represent our experiences, it is as though part of the self is relinquished. In a profound sense it is a time of relinquishing the world as we have known it. So we are afraid: afraid to relate to people in new ways, afraid to move into new places, afraid to be open to ideas different from our own, afraid to risk having to lose ourselves and our ...

8. When Too Much Can Be Too Little

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... threatening symptoms. Jesus revealed to the rich young man the heart of his shortcomings. His "stuff" blocked the staff of life. His love of stuff blocked his way to genuine discipleship, to the kingdom of God. Jesus challenged the man to give up his trust in things, to relinquish his hold on what he held, to give up his control, to take up God's security. In exchange, Jesus offered the rich man a place as one of his disciples. Here was an offer from the Messiah to travel with him, live and walk with him on ...

9. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... tagged along. Basically there are only three requirements to followership, but they are frightening: to "deny" oneself, to "take up" one's cross and to "follow me" (verse 34). It is the same requirement that continues to meet Christians today. Jesus asks that we relinquish the illusion that we possess our own lives, and that we can somehow neatly arrange our lives into a series of safe, controlled, self-affirming segments. The truth in Christ is that we are not our own, that we can never insulate ourselves ...

10. Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the heavenly Christ and the human Adam. Here the most commonly argued comparison juxtaposes the disobedience of the human Adam, who grasped at a divine status that was not his to take, with the obedience of a truly divine Christ, who gladly relinquished divinity for the sake of saving fallen humanity. This Christ hymn mirrors Paul's own personal concerns, for it stresses how this divine decision was a free, personal choice on the part of Christ. Unlike Adam, who "exploited" his unique position in creation ...

11. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

12. How Do We Make Sense of This?

Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 10:1-39

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... the ones with the power. For them, power was something to be sought after and protected and held onto. For Jesus, power was found in relinquishing it. Even power had no power over him. I know this may be sounding a little deep here, but hang in there with me and ... power is in knowing you're so powerful that you don't have to hang onto your power. That's the power Jesus showed when he relinquished his power on the cross. It was love's power, the way it can only come from God. It was a power that is so much ...

13. The Place beyond Punishment

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... or economic sanction and defend the life of a six-week-old fetus. Think of it as taking the high road in Lilliput.2 In contrast, the right consists of knowing to take its absolutes just far enough, which is to say, never so far as to relinquish the prerogatives of wealth and power. The achievement amounts to an ethical sleight of hand. You work the trick by shifting the domain of moral absolutes to those areas where they least apply. You treat the grey of human existence as though they were black and white ...

14. Around the Family Table

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... zone quickly leads to acute mountain sickness, hypothermia and, most often, death. And yet other climbers on Everest streamed past Irmak in their quest for the summit. In the death zone of Everest, there is no time for inaction. In an instant, Nadav relinquished his summit bid and put all his efforts into Irmak’s rescue. Nine hours later, Nadav arrived at base camp having saved the life of Aydin Irmak. What makes this story remarkable is that Turkey and Israel have long been nations with relations icier ...

15. Death, Risk, and Confidence

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... , sustaining, nurturing presence who will give us life-after-death on the same terms we were given life-after-birth?" I trust you realize that the New Testament eloquently declares that such a power does exist and can be counted on in the moment of the great relinquishment. The love that called us out of nothing into being is at once larger than life and stronger than death. We are told that it is not the will of the Father that any should perish, but that all should come to the fullness of his purpose ...

16. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... all things’ ” (John 21:17). We cannot know all things about ourselves, much less about others. The fact that we must all stand naked before the judgment seat of God is a bracing reminder not to take the judgment seat against another person. We relinquish the cause of judgment to Christ the merciful, for he is the incarnation of the God who causes us—and our fellow believers—to stand. Additional Notes Gaugler entitles 14:1–15:13, “Reverence for the Conscience of the Other.” See his sensitive ...

17. Allowing God To Do A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... people. But God never intended for the people to be held captive by the past. Listen to what the scriptures said on this subject: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old" (Isaiah 43:18). The first step toward something new is to relinquish our grip on the old. Only when we have taken the step of faith to walk away from the things of yesterday can we walk toward the exciting, new things God has planned for us. Unfortunately, this is a step that many churches today find too challenging ...

18. God's Vision For The Church

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... right according to God's plan. When you have experienced God's hand in your life in such a way, planning for the future can never be the same. God's unexpected ways and God's impeccable timing leave you wondering why you were ever reluctant to relinquish control in the first place. And God has a way of bringing two unsuspecting individuals together who turn out to be a mutual blessing for each other. Such a reciprocal blessing could never be orchestrated apart from the hand of God. A couple of years ago a ...

19. Walking On Our Hands

John 8:31-41

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... . Tradition provides an agenda for a community's life. Tradition offers some criteria by which to evaluate the fads and claims of each generation. Tradition brings the past into the present, making the past alive and available and nourishing ... One does not relinquish tradition easily.2 But Jesus' opponents had perverted their tradition. It had become hardened and impervious to change. It served the past rather than being open to the present and the future. They had become slaves to the very system they ...

20. Love And Money

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . Or is that bad news? Each of us must decide. One thing is for sure. If we want to follow Jesus, we had better brace ourselves. He calls us to serve a God who loves us, a God who will keep disturbing us until we finally relinquish our grip on money and possessions. Once we say yes to God, we can expect holy disruptions in our lives until the day when God alone shall purge and possess our hearts. 1. Stanley Hauerwas, Center for Continuing Education, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, 1 May ...

21. A Tree Well Watered

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... faithful as a well-watered tree does not suggest that trust in God means a privileged life free from trial. The heat and the drought still come, but the tree is not anxious, its leaves stay green, and it still bears fruit. It is in the very relinquishment of control that one finds the strength to persevere, for the strength comes from the abundant streams which God provides. Letting go of our own future allows us to stand with people who are poor and to work against any system which oppresses them. We can ...

22. When Wisdom Cries Out

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... , wisdom then, paradoxically, must seek refuge in the minds, hearts, and souls of true seekers and believers. Since the people have virtually ceased their search for those deeper things of God, life and creation, wisdom must leave its portals, abandon its gates, and relinquish its sacred shrines, safe houses, and sacred texts to search for true takers and seekers. Wisdom thus has enough savvy to seek new venues among the people even when the people don't strive to seek and attain it. In reading this passage ...

23. Don't Sell Your Inheritance for Cabbage Soup

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... , Esau retained a far more important birthright. He was the loved and lovable, acceptable and accepted child of God. He never lost that. Therein lies a wonderful lesson. Your birthright is the same. You are the loved child of God. You are worthwhile. Don't relinquish that gift. Circumstances may not be easy. You may have grown up in a dysfunctional home -- like Esau. You may not be a particularly gifted person -- like Esau. Others may take advantage of you -- as they did Esau. Your mother may not like you ...

24. The Promise Of The Spirit

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... are at the end of their effective rule among us. (See Brueggemann's Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile.) We are children of the Enlightenment which has brought us enormous gifts of human reason, freedom and possibility. Although we would not want to relinquish these gifts, they have come with high cost resulting in the concentration of power in monopolistic ways, often without ever being criticized. There are those who see the Spirit at work in the transforming of our world in the rise of Third ...

25. Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-21

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... language of love, which everyone understands. Let us greet one another now in Christian love. Offertory Sentences Among the gifts of the Spirit are the gifts of benevolence and generosity. Let us exercise these gifts with enthusiasm this morning. Offertory Prayer We relinquish these gifts from our power, Lord, so they can be instruments of your power. May your Spirit receive them, enrich them, and invest them according to your divine will. Amen. Benediction What Jesus said to his disciples, he also says to ...

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