Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2701 to 2725 of 4963 results

2701. The Lord's Prayer: The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... hard to live with, but that God LOVED Tommy. "Then He's a mighty funny kind of a God," the little boy said. In our own way and for our own reasons, we tend to agree. "Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory." But the question remains: Are we just whistling through the graveyard? Are we like little children, trying to affirm what we know is not true by tightly closing our eyes and trying to make our dream real by endlessly repeating our hope? "Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory...Thine ...

2702. The Incomparable Christ

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... God descend as a dove and heard a voice from heaven saying, "You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). Now it had been months since that day by the Jordan. But no revolution had begun; Rome was still master of Israel; Herod remained on the throne. Here John was in prison. What was going on? So he sent two of his disciples to inquire: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for ...

2703. The Freedom in Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... confessed to the crime. Chris Carrier, now a minister of the gospel, has forgiven his abductor. Everyday, Chris visits McAllister. Chris prays with and for David, reads the Bible with him and is doing everything he can to help David make peace with God in his time remaining in this life. Chris says, "I became a Christian when I was 13. That night was the first night I was able to sleep through the night, without waking up from my nightmares." He says it would be selfish not to share that same peace with ...

2704. The Power to Change the Past

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... our own heart and mind. The third stage of forgiveness is starting over...when possible. The miracle of forgiveness is completed when two alienated people begin again. That does not mean to say that we understand what happened. Loose ends may well remain untied. Nasty questions may still be unanswered. The future is uncertain, as always. We could easily have more hurts and more forgiving ahead of us. But we start over where we are. Three steps - suffering, spiritual surgery, starting over. Forgiveness is ...

2705. He Rose Again

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the side had settled the issue. After the horror was over, a caring friend named Joseph, of the town of Arimathea (which is no longer on any map), requested of Pilate that he be granted Jesus' body for burial. Pilate acceded to the request, the remains were removed from the cross, wrapped in a white linen shroud, and laid in Joseph's own new tomb. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance to prevent unwanted intrusion. There were still issues though. The religious leaders who had instigated the ...

2706. A Story Worth Sharing

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... occasionally slipped off incognito to visit the strip joint in a neighboring town. The rabbi confessed that he too had problems within his tradition - he LOVED bacon, and every so often would indulge himself with a huge (and secret) plate of bacon and eggs. The pastor remained silent for a long time. Finally when pressed by his brethren to reveal his weaknesses, he said, "Well, since you insist, I am going to tell you. I just love to gossip, and I can hardly wait to get home." (Tee hee.) I am more deadly ...

2707. "A Friend Indeed"

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... bigger and more technologically advanced than those purchased by their parents. 2. The percentage of Americans calling themselves "very happy" reached its highest point in what year? 1957 1967 1977 1987 Answer: a. The number of "very happy" people peaked in 1957, and has remained fairly stable or declined ever since. Even though we consume twice as much as we did in the 1950's, people were just as happy when they had less. 3. How much of an average American's lifetime will be spent (on average) watching ...

2708. No Holding Back

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in Denver, has a poem about this passage:(7) If all you want, Lord, is my heart, my heart is yours alone -- providing I may set apart my mind to be my own. If all you want, Lord, is my mind, my mind belongs to you, but let my heart remain inclined to do what it would do. If heart and mind would both suffice, while I kept strength and soul, at least I would not sacrifice completely my control. But since, O God, you want them all to shape with your own hand, I pray for grace to heed your ...

2709. The View from Jesus' Pew

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Clergy often come to their calling with a distinct aversion to conflict and to having to deal with money issues. Our culture seems to reinforce them in that behavior. So long as clergy are cowed and anxious in the face of money and wealth, they will remain silent about the spiritual issue that touches our culture more deeply than any other. The more I steeped myself in this book and looked at churches around me, the more I became convinced this behavior is the way a culture controls a challenge to itself. A ...

2710. The Apostles' Creed: "Suffered, Dead, and Buried..."

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... dead, and buried..." They killed him. They taunted him...tortured him. They killed him. Why? What had he done? The answer of our faith over the centuries has been NOTHING. He was the only perfect one who ever lived. Sinless. Yet the record remains and our affirmation is repeated: "...suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried..." Why? The traditional answer, of course, is that "Christ died for our sins."(1) The Bible says so. Our youngest Sunday School students know it. John the Baptist ...

2711. Mary's Complaint

Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... one would be able to claim his place. Information had it that the king was sending troops to Bethlehem with orders to murder every baby boy under the age of two that they found. Time for another trip...this time even longer...to Egypt. They remained in Egypt as expatriates until Herod finally died. Mary SURELY could have complained. She had every right. But her words were, "[God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." A strange way to complain. Finally, of course, Mary ...

2712. Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... for someone who is mean-spirited, miserly, and miserable. But the Scrooge of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" repented, and by the end of the story becomes a generous warm-hearted benefactor. Why do we remember only the rotten in him? Is it because the world remains unconvinced of the possibility of change? Or perhaps it is that misery loves company. If no one else can change, neither should I be expected to change. John says WRONG!!! In that context, we begin to get a better understanding of his talk about ...

2713. Terms of Endearment

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... soon as the sermon was over, I would rush out so nobody would say, 'What's a boy like you doing here in church.' "One day though," the old man continued, "I was trying to get out but some people had already got in the aisle so I had to remain. I was waiting, getting in a cold sweat, when all of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked out of the corner of my eye and realized it was the face of the preacher. And I was scared to death. "The preacher looked at me ...

2714. What's in a Name?

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

2715. Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... )(3) describing soon-to-be-published research exploring the kind of rationalizations used to justify such common trespasses as pilfering offices supplies or quietly pocketing a cashier's overpayment. People are more likely to give in to temptation when they can remain passive, the study finds, and when they feel no one is being harmed. In his research to be published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Bersoff had University students take part in what they were led to believe was a product test ...

2716. A Meal with Friends

Luke 9:10-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... into digging into their own picnic baskets (or whatever they had) and finally doing the sharing that they should have done in the first place. I guess that is possible, but I would not bet the farm on it. To be honest, I am content to remain blissfully ignorant of the details, just happy to celebrate a special moment...a miraculous moment...with all those people there in that countryside outside Bethsaida. I want to call your attention to one little detail in the story that you might not have thought much ...

2717. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... young man, laboring for the success of the family business. He was conscientious and dutiful. He might have given some thought at some time or another about striking out on his own. Every boy does. But his duty to father and family won out and he remained to do what was expected of him. He was a righteous young man...a little self-righteous, really. But he was virtuous enough to be able to claim that he was righteous to his father without Dad laughing at him. But then nobody ever laughed too much ...

2718. Leaping Lepers - Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... was concerned, that would have been preferable. Scripture was clear: "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp."(1) The REAL "L" word, now that the election is over. Not Liberal. Leprosy. Both what we now know as Hansen's Disease, which destroys the nerves in the fingers and toes making them ...

2719. Head's Up!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Hour,(3) she recounted an event from Spencer, South Dakota, a community that had recently been devastated by a tornado. Among the many losses, including six victims, was St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. The day after the tornado she walked through the remaining rubble of that community with the pastor of St. Matthew's and the congregation's president and several others. It was an unbelievable sight - a grain elevator twisted and fallen, a water tower toppled, vehicles and other heavy items strewn around like ...

2720. Hard to Believe

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... testimony at a trial - if each one gives exactly the same account of events, without any deviation whatsoever, that makes a jury suspicious that they have colluded together to concoct something; but if there are differences in detail while the major points remain the same, the testimony sounds more legitimate. Yes, from gospel to gospel, the resurrection accounts are different, but on the main point, they all agree: the tomb was empty and the risen Christ soon appeared. Hard to believe, yes, but frankly ...

2721. The Christ of the Commonplace

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Familiar story. Two travelers. Friends? Brothers? Husband and wife? We have no idea. Just Cleopas and whomever. Perhaps the reason one remains unidentified is to allow us to insert our own name into the story. Cleopas and David (or Cleopas and Debbie...or Connie or Jim or Jane or Bob or John), out on the road, home to Emmaus. This idea of inserting our own name into the story makes sense. They ...

2722. Merry XMas

John 1:1-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of the world and found frame upon empty frame that had once contained the work of the great masters. As a lover of architecture he envisioned the beautiful cathedrals of Rome, Paris and Milan; he saw what was once Westminster Abbey. In each case the only thing remaining was a huge, gaping crater of a cellar. After all, they had been constructed in the design of a cross, and without the one who had been sacrificed on the cross, there would have been no call for constructing a building in the shape of one. He ...

2723. The "E" Word

John 1:35-42

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... even worse: 60% say they attend religious services on a regular basis; 36% claim they attend weekly or more often(3) - less than two out of five - but the actual numbers are half that. However, in all that bad news, there is one figure that has remained remarkably consistent through the years - 95% of America believes in God. Eighty-four percent say they believe that Jesus Christ is God or the Son of God; two-thirds say they have made a personal commitment to him. Yet, they stay away from church. Why? Do ...

2724. True Excellence

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... people ” for people are the only things in this world that are eternal. It's like a group of soldiers who were released from prison camp at the end of World War II. Because transportation was limited and bad weather threatened to cut off the port, the remaining soldiers who were to board the last boat were told they could bring only one piece of baggage. Two soldiers had been together throughout the war and had looked out for each other. When one was selected to go and the other was forced to stay behind ...

2725. Broken Hydrants

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... IS HOPE. Jeremiah describes another type of person: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought." What a vivid picture of the life of faith. A strong, healthy tree. Strong and healthy because it is planted next to a stream. From that stream it draws what it needs to prosper even when times are hard ...

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