Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 2:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . He had noticed that the guns were locked up in the basement, but the keys, as he well knew, were on the window ledge above the kitchen sink. He tiptoed down the basement stairs and unlocked the storage room. It smelled as dank as a grave. He chose a double-barreled shotgun with a tight choke. He had used if for years to shoot pigeon’s. He took some shells from one of the boxes in the storage room, closed and locked the door, and climbed the basement stairs. If he saw the bright day outside, it did not ...

477. The Healing Power of the Cross

Luke 23:26-43, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23:44-49

Sermon

James W. Moore

... named Tim, tried to snatch the yearbook out of Joe’s hands. Tim couldn’t afford to buy a yearbook, so he tried to take Joe’s. Joe was a very non-combative person, but it was his first yearbook and he wouldn’t let go. Tim lost control, doubled up his fist, and swung as hard as he could. When Joe saw the punch coming and tried to dodge, Tim’s first slammed right into Joe’s esophagus… collapsing it… and Joe went down unconscious. They rushed Joe to the hospital for emergency surgery, but it was ...

478. Increasing Our Standard of Giving

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Methodist Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700’s. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away. The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little ...

479. The Apostles' Creed: Maker of Heaven and Earth

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... elliptical orbit at a fairly constant speed. If our world slowed down, it would be pulled so close to the sun at the shallow or narrow part of that football-like orbit that we would all be burned to a crisp. If we were to slightly more than double our speed, we would be thrown far into space at the long point of the orbit and quickly freeze to death. Speaking of distance, we are approximately 93-million miles from the sun - just about right to receive neither too much nor too little heat and light to allow ...

480. God Hears

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... go first. Arafat refused. So Barak, with a big grin, shoved him toward the narrow door anyway. Finally, President Clinton, in his first act of mediation, resolved the problem. "I've got an idea," he said with a laugh. Then he opened the second double door, allowing the two to stride in, smiling, side by side.(1) Sadly, the smiles have been few and far between since then. The negotiations have been incredibly difficult. This past Wednesday, it looked as though they would be called off without any agreement ...

481. The Ten Commandments #5: Honoring Parents

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , on which the family would be driving later that day. The taxi driver dropped him off on the side of the road. Dad waited there until he saw the family car coming, then stuck out his thumb as a hitchhiker. As Mom and the kids drove past, they did a double take. DAD! Mom screeched to a stop, backed up to the hitchhiker and the family had a joyful reunion. Later, when a newspaper reporter asked the man why he would do such a crazy thing, he responded, "After I die, I want my kids to be able to say, 'Dad ...

482. Do I Matter?

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Anan, the birth of little Adnan Nevic "should light a path of tolerance and understanding for all people." We can certainly hope. UN demographers had determined that the population would hit the six-billion number this past Tuesday, which means that we have had a doubling of the Earth's inhabitants in less than 40 years. The population clock in the visitors' lobby at UN headquarters was racing so fast Tuesday morning that it skipped from 5,999,999,998 to 6,000,000,001. One of the officials standing there ...

483. The Best Birthday Ever

Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... married. Over and over we heard the refrain, "Curtis is getting married? There's still hope for me!" The big night arrived. Curtis and Mary got to the church, were ushered into a parlor, and finally called to the Narthex for the big event. The large double doors swung open, Curtis and Mary stood at the head of the long center aisle. Both looked back and forth surveying the scene in front of them. The church had been decorated as if this were the biggest society wedding of south Florida's season. Beautiful ...

484. The Lord's Prayer: "Our Daily Bread"

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... petition. It was Jesus who said, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34). I like the old ditty: Better never trouble trouble Till trouble troubles you, For you only make your trouble Double trouble when you do.(7) The last two words of the petition, of course, are the main thrust of our prayer: "Give us this day our DAILY BREAD." We are asking God that our physical needs be met. Luther's comment on the passage was, "Everything ...

485. The Lord's Prayer: "Lead Us Not Into Temptation"

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I recently read of the Rev. Martin Perelra of the Roman Catholic Our Lady of the Airways parish in Moulton, Ontario. It seems he was downtown bringing Communion to a sick member but was unable to find a place to park. So he DOUBLE-parked and left a note on the windshield. It said, "This is a priest. I circled the area for 20 minutes but couldn't find a spot. Will be back in five minutes. `Forgive us our trespasses.'" When he returned he found a parking ticket with its own note attached. ...

486. The Ultimate Question

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... like the blue-collar rabble rouser he was in the New Testament. It takes steps toward greater realism, putting the political ferment of Christ's time in the foreground [and it does an outstanding job of that], but ends up a traditional, staid epic that is double-dipped in ham-fisted dramatics."(2) Well, quibble, quibble. To be sure, when Hollywood starts to tell the story of Jesus, we cannot be certain what to expect. The images might be pious, as in Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth, the first made-for ...

487. The Freedom in Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... had occasion to forgive someone SEVEN TIMES? "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!" After three or four times, I doubt that I would want to get anywhere NEAR you! Even the rabbis taught that three times is sufficient. Peter was doubling that and adding one for good measure. But Jesus says, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." Or depending on your translation, "seventy times seven!" Either way, a LOT! Then comes this strange story about the king and his slave. The slave ...

488. The Power to Change the Past

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... an offense a second time, they forgive him; if he commits an offense a third time, they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive."(2) I am sure Peter thought that he was being incredibly charitable, for he takes the Rabbinic teaching, doubles it, adds one for good measure, and suggests (with eager self-satisfaction, no doubt) that it will be enough if he forgives seven times. Peter thought he would be warmly commended, I suspect, but Jesus' answer was that the Christian must forgive, depending on ...

489. A Fool and his Money

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... been surrounding Jesus: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Apparently the man's older brother refused to give him what he felt he was due. The laws of inheritance in that day stipulated that the elder brother would receive a double portion of the legacy,(2) then the balance distributed. For whatever reason, this fellow was feeling cheated and he wanted Rabbi Jesus to act as Probate Judge, just as Moses had done centuries before.(3) But Jesus would have none of it. As is so ...

490. Good News For Parents And For Kids, Too!

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... one of those resolutions? Weight Watchers and Nutri-System and all the other diet plans have their biggest months in January. Did you hear about the notice that appeared in a church bulletin: "Weight Watchers will meet this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Please use the large double door at the side entrance." Some of us have resolved to pursue an exercise program. One fellow says that he doesn't believe in exercise. He says if God meant for us to touch our toes, God would have put them farther up our body. One man ...

491. Broken Hydrants

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... self-pity. "I had a `right' to feel self-pity," she says. Within the space of a year she lost her child Robin; her father died; and she came down with a crippling illness. An inner ear infection with serious complications gave her double vision, a queazy feeling like seasickness, blackout spells, dizziness, and the inability to walk a straight line. Lying in a hospital room overlooking Forest Lawn Cemetery, she watched the black hearses and had morbid thoughts about death ” of her loved ones and herself ...

492. The Secret Ingredient Of Success

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... more than forty bases a year and scores over a hundred runs as well. In 1990 he led the league with 160 singles and 288 times on base. Brett made the All-Star team in 1991 and was in the top ten in hitting in 1992. Plus, he hits into double plays only about every two hundred times at bat. He's every manager's dream for a lead-off hitter. Did Brett Butler made it to the major leagues on the basis of pure athletic ability? Of course not. Here is the secret truth that we need to tell every ...

493. Wrestling In A Title Bout

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mark Clark

... born. He always wanted to gain the upper hand. He was like this with his brother, his father, and his father-in-law. If you remember the stories, he stole his brother's birthright, tricked his father into giving him the family blessing, and tricked his double-crossing father-in-law, Laban, into giving him the best sheep and goats in his herd. Jacob was less reputable than "Honest Ahkmed" the used camel salesman. Jacob always had to have everything his own way, and he was willing to do whatever it took to ...

494. When What's Lost Is Found

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... as the young soldier who marched off so bravely to war?" The mother thought a few minutes and then, in her dream, told the angel she would choose none of those times. "Let me have him back," she said, "when as a little boy, in a moment of anger, he doubled up his fists and shook them at me and said, ˜I hate you! I hate you' ˜ " Continuing to address the angel, she said: "In a little while his anger subsided and he came back to me, his dirty little face stained with tears, and put his arms around me ...

495. Comfort My People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... we know just how much God loves us. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sins have been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." The first word is forgiveness. THIS BRINGS US TO OUR SECOND WORD PRESENCE. Isaiah continues, "In the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God . . . ." God has come into our world, says ...

496. We Know Where You Came From

John 6:41-51

Sermon

King Duncan

... appeared in jukeboxes. And the U.S. government borrowed the tune for a song about conserving water during World War II.) However, what had seemed to be the perfect ad campaign began costing the company sales in the fifties when the suburbs boomed, refrigerators doubled in size, and shopping became a once-a-week event. Shoppers would buy a dozen apples or a dozen oranges but only three bananas because they "knew" that bananas should never go in the fridge. The company tried in vain for years to counter the ...

497. Cut Your Losses!

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... a vision of how his nails would look one day in a glass case attached to a plaster replica of his 56-year-old hand. The problem was that no one had offered him enough money. The highest bid was $100,000 from an American collector in 1991. Shridhar expected double that amount of money. At last report he and his wife lived in a grimy cubicle in the market area of Pune, India. They share a narrow cot. Their daughter sleeps on the floor. Their rent is $1.60 a month. (1) Shridhar was offered $100,000 to cut his ...

498. Motorcycles, Marriage And A Word From God

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... headed to the parking lot. The air was filled with the throb of powerful engines. Then, with almost military precision, the bikes streamed out of the parking lot and straight toward the pastor. Only a few feet from him, they turned off to form a double row facing each other an honor guard to create an aisle for the bride. With engines at full throttle, their roar echoed across the valley. As the bride walked slowly and gracefully down this aisle, each bike she passed switched off its engine. As she ...

499. Searching For Jesus

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... , the upheaval is evident everywhere in our culture. Babies have babies, affluent Yuppies prize their BMWs more than children, rich and poor children alike blot their minds with drugs, people casually move in with each other and out again. The divorce rate has doubled since 1965, and demographers project that half of all first marriages made today will end in divorce. Six out of ten second marriages will probably collapse. One third of all children born in the past decade will probably live in a step-family ...

500. Grace The New Fashioned Way

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Pharisees. They had a superiority complex that caused them to disdain those who did not have what they had. This came to mind when I read about an event at the Special Olympics. Ed Beck, a former all-American basketball player at Kentucky and a minister, doubles as a part time chaplain to our U.S. Olympic team. Once he suggested that the kingdom of heaven is like the best, first class athletes. Seeing them train at the Air Force Academy practice field with all the technology and their native skill he ...

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