Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4001 to 4025 of 4914 results

4001. There's No Such Thing as Too Much Sugar

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

The Archangel Michael. We meet him here in Revelation as commanding General of God's forces in heaven. We meet him in the book of Daniel as the guardian of the nation of Israel,(1) who, together with Gabriel, fought against the prince (the angelic patron) of Persia. Then we meet him once more in Jude 9 where we read of a strange dispute between the devil and Michael over Moses' body. We meet him today on the liturgical calendar - in some church traditions, today, September 29th, is the Feast Day of St. ...

4002. Regis and Jesus

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you been caught up in the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" frenzy? For one-million dollars, what insect got into the works of the world's first computer causing it to short out and in the process started use of the phrase "computer bug?" A) Moth, B) Roach, C) Fly, D) Japanese Beetle. Dee-doo-dee-doo, dee-doo-dee-doo. A 25-year-old California man sat in the "hot seat" on Thursday night and agonized over the answer as millions of Americans looked on, and those who knew the answer in their living rooms ...

4003. A World in Turmoil

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred..." Or as the New Revised Standard Version has it, "When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil..." TURMOIL. Great word. It has a feeling about it. Something is bubbling up and about to boil over. There is tension. There is danger. The Greek word is seio and means to rock to and fro or to agitate, to quake or shake. And contrary to the parade and party atmosphere that we often associate with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, ...

4004. When Evil Wins

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

You are familiar with David Heller's delightful little book, Dear God: Children's Letters to God.(1) There are some wonderfully witty observations. For example, • Dear God, What do you think about all those movies made about you around Easter time? I think they're kind of corny, myself. Your buddy, Charles (age 9) • Dear God, What do you do with families that don't have much faith? There's a family on the next block like that. I don't want to get them in trouble, so I can't say who. See you in church. ...

4005. The News from Nazareth

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

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Interesting item in the paper the other day. "According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year...Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer, however, retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen...had to be a ...

4006. Doing Battle with Demons

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A familiar story. One wag says it is the only one in scripture that deals with "deviled ham." Yuck, yuck. The narrative builds around the sensitivities of Jewish piety. Pigs were the personification of uncleanness.(1) They were easily associated with Gentile uncleanness. Tombs were also a source of uncleanness, and in Jewish areas they were whitewashed so that one might not come in contact with a tomb accidentally.(2) A man with no clothes on would be an outcast since nakedness was shameful.(3) Unclean! ...

4007. No Time for a Knapsack Faith

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

King Duncan

A ridiculous story made the rounds years ago. Most of you have heard the story, but I wonder if you have caught its religious significance. It is about a pilot and three passengers--a boy scout, a priest, and an atomic scientist--and a plane that develops engine trouble in mid-flight. The pilot rushes back to the passenger compartment and exclaims, “The plane is going down! The plane is going down! We only have three parachutes, and there are four of us!” Then the pilot adds, “I have a family waiting for ...

4008. Running From God

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Every once in a while you run across a newspaper story that makes you think that the whole world is going bonkers. Here is one from a paper in Kentucky: A youth pastor was charged with calling in a bomb threat to a Western Kentucky church where he was scheduled to preach that night. The young pastor said he made the call on a Sunday evening because he was unprepared for the service that night. He told police he called 911 from the church about 6:30 p.m. CDT and told the dispatcher there was a bomb in the ...

4009. Follow that Dream

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1872, at the age of 16, Booker T. Washington decided he wanted to go to school. For a boy, born a slave to a plantation cook in Virginia, who had no idea who his white father was, this was a huge step. He decided that he would enter the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. With nothing more than a small satchel of clothing, he started walking from Malden, West Virginia, 500 miles away. Eventually he made it to Richmond, about eighty miles from his destination. He worked there for a few days unloading ...

4010. What Are You Working For?

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the questions men often ask men when they first meet is, "What do you do?" A smart aleck might answer by saying, "Oh, I snore," or "I mow my lawn once a week. Then I take a shower. Then I usually watch television an hour or so...." By then the other party is likely to intercede asking, "I mean, what do you do for a living?" This usually is a good ice breaker. Most of us are comfortable talking about our work. If things are going well it gives us a chance to boast a bit, tastefully, of course. If ...

4011. Why We Give

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Preparing a message on the subject 'Why We Give' made me think of a story that Dennis Hensley told on himself. Working as a chaplain's assistant at the Fort Knox Reception Station, he says that he got used to countless new recruits coming into his office with complaints on adjustments to Army life. During this initial week the recruits had to "donate" a pint of blood. One afternoon a man came storming into his office yelling, "I can't take it! They cut off all my hair, took away my civilian clothes. I mean ...

4012. Teach Us To Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

"Is anybody listening? Is anybody listening? Please somebody help me! My husband has collapsed and I do not know how to fly a plane!" These are the words of a desperate North Carolina woman whose husband, an accomplished pilot, had just died suddenly of a heart attack at the controls of their tiny aircraft. She had not been very enthusiastic about flying in the first place, but it was the great joy of his life. She went along reluctantly, but she had never paid any attention to how he operated the plane. ...

4013. God Loves An Underdog

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Thomas Wheeler, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, told a good story on himself. He said that while he and his wife were out driving he noticed they were low on gas. So he pulled off at the first exit and came to this dumpy little gas station with one pump. There was only one man working the place, so he asked the man to fill it up while he checked the oil. He added a quart of oil, closed the hood, and he saw his wife talking and smiling at the gas ...

4014. Persistence In Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

I believe you will agree with me that this is one election season that all of us will be happy to see come to an end. One of the candidates for president . . . I won’t say which one . . . was campaigning in West Virginia recently. Some of the coal miners were not real happy about it when the candidate asked for their vote. “Vote for you?” one of them jeered. “Why, I’d sooner vote for the Devil!” “Fair enough!” called out the candidate, “But in the event that your friend doesn’t run, may I have your ...

4015. The King Of Ifs

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Richard Andersen

His throne room was the top of a small hill named Golgatha. His throne was not gilded and set with precious stones; it was a cross of rough-hewn timbers. Though He wore a crown, it was of thorns. Albeit He had been cloaked in a robe of royal color, it was but a discarded rag and even that was taken from Him. Once He held a scepter, but it was only a reed from a creek bed, stuffed derisively in His hand by jeering guards. Yet Jesus, upon Calvary's cross, was more a King than any other sovereign; certainly ...

4016. Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Philip Ware

Good Friday Isaiah said it, possibly 550 years before Jesus was born: "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Is this why the people who executed Jesus had to torture him so much before they killed him? I think not! There is a mean and cruel streak in many of us when we are faced with love and forgiveness. Sometimes it seems we have to humiliate and hurt those who have come to help us before ...

4017. Empowered

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A family driving a large camper pulled up in front of the church just as the pastor started toward home. Desiring to be friendly, the pastor introduced himself and expressed his admiration for the camper. The man of the family told him rather proudly: "This camper sleeps eight people." Then he asked: "What is the capacity of your church, Pastor?" The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly, "Oh, it sleeps about eighty." It is embarrassing sometimes how little the modern day church resembles the church ...

4018. The Source Of Joy

John 3:22-36

Sermon

Eric Ritz

One cold, rainy morning a teenager awakened on a farm and walked out to the back of the barn where she kept her favorite pet ” her animal friend, the mule. The mule was standing outside in the rain, and as the drops of water rolled off the end of the long nose of that ugly animal, the mule seemed discouraged and depressed. She looked at her favorite friend and said, "You know, Betsy, you would make a wonderful Christian because you look like so many Christians I know! You look like you have lost your last ...

4019. A Perfect World

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometime back, John Gratton in the Drexel, Missouri STAR gave us a description of what it would be like to live in a perfect world. Here are a few of his thoughts. In a Perfect World. . . a person should feel as good at 50 as he did at 17, and he would actually be as smart at 50 as he thought he was at 17. In a Perfect World. . . you could give away a baby bed without getting pregnant. In a Perfect World. . . pro baseball players would complain about teachers being paid contracts worth millions of dollars ...

4020. The Mother Side Of God

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Today is the day when we honor Moms. See if anyone here recognizes this Mom: You stand up to take pictures at your son's school play even after they've asked people not to. You insist your child wear a sweater when YOU'RE cold. You tell your daughter how much prettier she looks with her hair out of her eyes. You hear yourself say [things like], "Your face will freeze like that," and "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" There's a used Kleenex stuffed up your shirtsleeve. The first thing you ...

4021. A Prize Is Waiting For You!

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

It is a true story - no matter how much like a fairy tale it may sound. A totally unsuspecting man literally stumbled upon the world's largest diamond - all 3,106 carats of it. It happened in Premier Mine #2, near Pretoria, South Africa, in early 1905. This amazing stone was then sent in an ordinary cardboard box to England. One hundred and five stones were cut from this diamond, known as the Cullinan diamond. Two of the largest stones which it produced, the 530-carat Star of Africa and the 317-carat ...

4022. What It Means To Be A Family

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone once made a collection of the thoughts of children about romance. They call it: "Kids say the darndest things . . . about love": What do most people do on a date? "On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for the second date." (Mike, age 10) When is it okay to kiss someone? "You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, ˜cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding." (Jim, age 10) ...

4023. Jerry's Story . . . And Ours

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jerry. Jerry's dad was a pastor, and all his life it was assumed that Jerry would be a pastor too. His grandma said it: "God's got his hand on you, Jerry. Someday, you're going to wear those fine velvet robes, and put that shiny cross around your neck. And you're going to step into the pulpit and preach the Word, just like your daddy does. And we'll be so proud." Jerry's uncles and aunts said it: "I'll tell you, that boy has a good strong voice. I could hear ...

4024. Positive Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

The teacher of a junior high class was trying to illustrate the word miracle. "Young people," he said, "Suppose I stood on the roof of a 10-story building, lost my balance and fell off. Then all of a sudden, in midair, a whirlwind swept me up and brought me safely to the ground. Now what word would you use to describe this?" After a long silence a boy raised his hand and asked, "Luck?" "True, true," replied the teacher. "It could be luck. But that's not the word I wanted. I'll repeat the story. There I am ...

4025. Where Are Your Chickens?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, a pastor named Harry told about an unusual mission from God. He always began his mornings with prayer. One morning during his prayer time, Harry felt that God was leading him to fulfill a very specific mission: to buy twelve barbecued chickens. Harry didn't know what God wanted him to do with the barbecued chickens, so he drove around town praying and asking God to lead him to people who needed food. He sensed God leading him to five different homes in different parts of town. In one home ...

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