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 114 results

1. Show Me The Fish!

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... half feet high, and spurs him. The horse jumps over the railing, into the river below, with the rider still on him. It swims downstream in a hail of bullets from the bridge, and once again, Zorro makes a cunning escape. Max Anders questioned how in the world did that stunt rider get that horse to jump over that railing into the black abyss below? He says that is one of the most unnatural things a horse would ever do. A horse would be almost as likely to dance ballet or swim a back stroke as to jump into a ...

2. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Don’t worry. William survived. Although he had failed to make his James Bond entrance, “People on the boat loved it,” he told a reporter. “They were screaming, yelling, waving.” A witness, however, described the reaction as “shrieks of horror.” When the stunt was over, William dangled above the water for a few minutes, confirming that no bones were broken, and making a mental note to use a shorter bungee cord next time. William is still waiting to hear from the movie producers. (2) The scout ...

3. If You Are The King Of The Jews....

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... and does things I can't do. Things that are too dangerous." "Oh, well, what about that part in the movie where you spin around on that gym bar and land on your feet," persisted the boy. "How did you do that?" "Well, son," said Bacon, "that was the stunt man again, not me. He's really good at gymnastics." "Oh," said his son. Then there was a long pause. "Dad," his son asked, "just what did you do in the movie?" Bacon sheepishly replied, "I got all the glory." (1) Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Someone took his ...

4. Presented to the Lord

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... me. Everybody has struggles. My struggles are just more apparent.” (1) Isn’t that amazing? You and I see people every day with perfectly good bodies, healthy in every way, who are mired in unhappiness. And then we run into a Kyle Maynard with his stunted arms and misshapen hands and feet, and he is so positive. How does that happen? Obviously it helps to have people who love you and believe in you. I read something recently about actor Kirk Douglas’ mother. Douglas, for years one of Hollywood’s most ...

5. A Man for All Seasons

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... the faith, as we move about, to provide a certain spiritual aroma that causes others to want what we have. The more we can relate to them in their patterns of living, the more apt we are to be successful in their conversion. 4. Rigidity is sometimes a means to stunt the spiritual growth of others. Old First Church sat on the corner of High and Elm for so many years — rigidly, as the community viewed it — that it had to be torn down before it fell down! It didn't have to be that way. New life seemed to ...

6. Are You a Crazy Dog?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... insisted, would be filled with Crazy Dogs - people who believe the first are last, the greatest are the least, the strong are the weak, and the meek win it all. What is a Crazy Dog? The Crow Indians used to rescue their lives from spirit-stunting ruts by engaging in what they called "Crazy Dog" activities. Being a Crazy Dog could mean simple things like purposefully eating dinner for breakfast, wearing your clothes inside-out, or playing a pots-and-pans symphony from midnight to six in the morning. Being a ...

7. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Proverbs 16:1, 9, Philippians 3:12-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... is 272 ft. high and measures 79 ft. in circumference. It is so large that if someone were to cut it down there would be enough lumber in that one tree to build 45 five-room homes. There's one major difference between those two trees. The bonsai is purposely stunted in its growth, while the sequoia is allowed to grow as large as it wants. Now here is the point. Neither the bonsai nor the General Sherman had a choice in determining how great it would become, but you and I do. [3] There is no reason why our ...

8. Strength through Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... diversity, even in a hostile way. That was certainly the case with the woman on the plane. We may not make a scene as did the woman, but in our minds and actions we are as closed as she was toward the black man. Such attitudes stunt our growth. Sometimes we are fortunate, like the woman, to be shocked or even embarrassed into understanding the problematic reality of our attitude. However, too often we do not learn and thus we continue down the path that leads nowhere. We miss out on many opportunities ...

9. Soiled Faith and Watered-Down Churches

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stymied, the plant does not fulfill its true potential. It loses its essential "plantness". It loses its ability to reproduce, and to bloom, to bear fruit, to flourish. Even its identity becomes deformed. When you leave a plant in a small pot, its growth can become stunted. You need to keep allowing it depth to grow and feel its roots, room to spread, no matter how comfortable it has become in its setting. A good gardener knows that by repotting a plant time and time again just a bit beyond its comfort zone ...

10. Fertilize Your Faith

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to root and grow. A barren plant in your garden is a plant only taking up space, depleting the soil but not producing viable food. A barren church does essentially the same. Its building takes up space, but it is a non-productive entity, stunted in its ability to reproduce and refusing to feed the world. This is how Jesus describes Israel in the first century. He’s directing his admonition however particularly at the religious elite, those who are in positions of power and status. The Jerusalem Temple ...

11. Tempted By Good

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... who you are? This is your chance! Go ahead. Show them." But the problem was that his basic argument was all wrong. Yes, Jesus was God's Son, but no spectacular circus act would win the people. He had come to win the people with love, not trick them with stunts. The temptation was to use his status as the unique son of God and force God into action by jumping off the temple. That is like snake handling in church today. How did Jesus answer? Do not put the Lord your God to the test. There would be no ...

12. Week Two Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... younger man's transgressions, but has celebrated his return with food and dance. We learn about the need to forgive others "through the back door" in the character of the older son. Since this young man cannot forgive, the process of reconciliation is stunted. As when the weak link in the chain snaps and destroys the usefulness of the whole, so too if either of the first two active aspects of reconciliation are not found, the final aspect, reconciliation with God, cannot be achieved. The forgiving father ...

13. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

... , where people clamor to appear on Oprah and Geraldo to do an emotional striptease, baring in the name of candor the deepest secrets of their past in front of an audience of perfect strangers, hypocrites seem, by contrast, emotionally stunted. They are guarded and deceptive; they put on false and pretty faces, hiding their true selves behind the cloak of pseudo-respectability. Indeed, "hypocrite" was originally a theatrical term, describing actors, who concealed their real countenances behind dramatic masks ...

14. Evergreen Wreath And Faded Leaf

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... followers that salvation lay in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick, we have the technical capacity to free humankind from the scourge of hunger. No child need go to bed hungry, and no human being's future and capabilities need be stunted by malnutrition. Yet where is the evergreen wreath of Advent hope for the 500 million to one billion people seriously malnourished in our world? Do we thrust our well-filled glass in their direction and with a furrow on our brow exclaim: "We hope ...

15. Out On A Limb

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... of doing. Or perhaps, he has dreamed of doing it. Perhaps that's where this blurted out promise of generosity comes from -- from Zacchaeus' dreams of being a better person than he is. As he stands before Jesus, perhaps he sees himself, not as he is, a morally-stunted and hated tax collector, but as the benefactor of the poor and the righter of wrongs that he may become. That's really being "out on a limb," isn't it -- to see ourselves as we might become, and to commit ourselves to begin living by that ...

16. Trusting In The Lord

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... in human effort to achieve pleasurable goals. Man, God's two-footed handiwork, had worked himself into the center where Yahweh alone belongs. Humankind in the middle was the problem. Jeremiah predicted that this arrangement of man in the middle would never work. Can a stunted plant in the desert survive with no life-giving water? Can a desert tree survive without life-giving water? Neither can you survive if you put yourself in first place where you do not have the water of life, says the Lord. The human ...

17. Believing The Living Word

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... a long time. At times it seems like a hopeless cause. You pray and pray for years and nothing seems to change. The object of your affection, a son, a daughter, a wife or husband, a father or mother, just won't give in and believe in God. Instead, stunted and turned in on self, these loved ones go on living as materialists or practical atheists. They live as secular people, as if there is no God. Your heart is broken. You witness, talk and pray, seemingly to no avail. Here in today's Word there is hope, "My ...

18. The Vine And The Branches

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... with Jesus Christ. It will mean arranging life, and prayer, and worship, and silence in such a way that there is never a day when we give ourselves a chance to forget him. Many years ago there was a convention of the Barbers Supply Association. As a publicity stunt, they went into the skidrow section of the city and found the worst drunk. He was unshaven, emaciated, and sad. They took him to a hotel, gave him a bath, a shave, a haircut, and bought him a new suit, overcoat and shoes. When he was finished, he ...

19. Take Up Your Cross

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

... people will harden their hearts and fail to really hear and understand the Good News. Others will accept it eagerly, but only as long as it is the popular thing to do. Some will receive it, but attempt to serve both God and material wealth and thus stunt their growth. And when people stop growing, they soon wither away and die. But there will be others, our Lord assures us, who will receive the Good News joyfully, cling to it boldly, and grow up into full maturity. Therefore the harvest is sure. The victory ...

20. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

... to become a truly great actor. People who become stuck in certain situations by choice, people who refuse to move out or go forward because they fear the possible pain and risk involved, usually pay a severe price in terms of stunted opportunities and limited personal development. Perhaps Jesus had something of this in mind when he admonished people to "Hunger and thirst after righteousness." When one is hungry and thirsty enough, that individual will risk almost anything to satisfy those nagging needs ...

21. Proper 7

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

... 's house, he would claim Yahweh as his God. It was an awkward way to try to relate to God, but Jacob was basically an earthy "man of the world" so he tried to strike a bargain. All of this probably showed how frightened Jacob was, as well as how stunted his spiritual development happened to be. Perhaps, one of the most insightful things to come out of this story is the fact that Jacob didn't see anything until he slept. God was on that moor as much before Jacob slept as afterwards. But it was only when he ...

22. He Can Quench All Your Thirsts

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

... minded that he's no earthly good. One more thing. The inseparableness of God's practical and spiritual involvement in the world should remind us of how we are to act. There's more to living as his people than serving others. Our growth as Christians is stunted without a prayer and study and worship life. At the same time, calloused knees mean little without calloused hands. Don't let your God be too small. And don't let yourself be too small. The waters he offers can quench every type of thirst we dare ...

23. Why Look To Heaven?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

... too tight. You try so hard to live your life through me that you stifle us both." That piece of wisdom almost makes my first love worth the pain. A person can cling too tightly to another. He can try to live his life through her, stifling her life and stunting his own. I wonder if the same thing could ever be said of our love for God. Do we ever try to cling so tightly to God, living in Jesus' shadow, that we stifle our growth as God's children? Do we too often use our quiet walk with God ...

24. One Commandment is Enough!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... our parents. If we dishonor them, we dishonor God. Our parents may not be loving, the home we grew up in may leave much to be desired, the absence of mother may have left the child lonely, the lack of love from the father may have stunted the child so he/she was starved for parental affection during the formative years. Are we to honor that kind of father and mother? Yes, parents are not honored because of their achievements as parents, nor for sentimental reasons, but they are to be honored and respected ...

25. Religion at a Minimum

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... church affiliation somewhere. However, when you get down to the performance level of religion, the figure drops, percentage-wise, into the thirties. Apparently there are many who are religiously concerned but not spiritually committed - a great many whose consciences are stunted and quieted by an occasional contact with religion. The only real solution to their problem will be found in an encounter with Jesus Christ such as the one experienced by Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). What ...

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