Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 14:15-24, Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... at the University of Illinois, recently asked faculty members for the "most unusual, bizarre and amazing student excuses" they had ever heard. He got dozens.(2) Listen: • Grandparent death: an old favorite, but one professor's class established some sort of record when 14 out of 250 students reported their grandmothers' deaths just before final exams. In another class a student reported that he could not take the mid-term because his grandmother had died. When the instructor expressed condolences ...

1377. God Cares About Justice!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Americans. Despite new attitudes about morality, fluctuations in church membership, higher levels of education, and so on, there have been remarkably few changes in responses in recent years. The polls generally show that about 95% of us believe in a God of some sort. People may call God by different names, if indeed they believe that God is callable at all, but they do believe that a God exists. In reference to our lesson, over 80% of America believes that the Ten Commandments are still valid for today ...

1378. The Ten Commandments: One God, Only One

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... pleasure. There are some who would have us believe that anything remotely smacking of fun is wrong. The Puritans were like that. They went so far as to outlaw any celebration of Christmas. Even today there are those who think of God as some sort of grey-bearded, scowling celestial Scrooge sitting up in the sky somewhere looking around hoping to catch someone having fun so he can ZAP them. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing in scripture that says there is anything inherently sinful ...

1379. The Ten Commandments #3: God's Name

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... modern speech, the phrase IN VAIN implies failure. If Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did not hit home runs in the games last night, the sportscasts this morning could say their attempts were IN VAIN. No homers. Or if a young man sends flowers and candy and all sorts of indications of affection to the girl of his dreams, but she does not respond appropriately, we say his gifts were IN VAIN. A failure. But using the name of the Lord IN VAIN??? Failure? That makes no sense. What else could it mean? We can go back ...

1380. The Ten Commandments #6: No Murder

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . But, painful though it may be, it is difficult to defend our own intervening where God has not chosen to do so. Further problems arise in situations in which a patient is near the end of life, but is lingering...and might linger in some sort of limbo between life and death for who knows how long. Existing, not living, no hope of recovery, and in the process draining everyone's emotional and financial resources. Should the process be "helped along?" Another toughie. After all, there would be reason to look ...

1381. The Ten Commandments #10: No Covetousness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... The commandment IS helpful. Apparently God's standard for a just society involves a home, a family, and the chance to make a living. And when Dr. Oldenburg's three principles of justice come into conflict with one another, these standards can be applied to sort out any difficulties. First, the right to a home. According to the commandment, it is unjust for people to sleep over heating grates on our city streets. It is unjust for a society to care nothing about citizens who have never had and probably never ...

1382. Sunday Dinner

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... (just as two teenagers on a date sipping the same ice cream soda through two straws know that a special bond has been formed). Do you remember the movie, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and the furor caused by the daughter inviting the WRONG sort of fellow for a meal? Eating together means something more than collectively fending off hunger. That helps us understand why ancient Israel was taught to bring the sacrifice and share it - it was a way of making the participants feel that they were linked to ...

1383. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... idol to which the people brought sacrifices. Finally, the practice became so outrageous that good king Hezekiah smashed the thing to pieces.(9) It is easy to lose focus. Time for the church to get the focus back. To Look and Live. And to remember how contagious that sort of thing is: look up, and everyone else wants to look up with you. What a witness! "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." What is the main thing? Not only did Jesus tell you, but every preacher and Sunday School teacher ...

1384. Growing in Faith

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... wrote his son in the faith Timothy: "If you point these things out to the brothers [and sisters]"...if you instruct them..."you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus."(2) The church TRIES to do the job. All but the tiniest of congregations offer some sort of Sunday School program. But we would have to admit that much of what passes for "education" in Sunday School would never be tolerated in the public school. Two lawyers were bosom friends. Much to the amazement of one of them, the other became a Sunday ...

1385. Does God Care Who Wins the Superbowl?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... replied, "Well, it would be fine, but..." And his eyes raised in the direction of a magnificent palace at the top of the mountain that overlooked this group of homes. Leading up to it was a tree-lined driveway that was generously landscaped with all sorts of North Carolina Tarheel memorabilia - pennants, flags, championship banners. "I don't understand, Lord," said Coach K. "Why is Dean Smith's home so much better than mine?" God laughed. "That's not Dean Smith's place. That's MINE!" Uh-huh. Does God take ...

1386. Be Careful What You Wish For, You Just Might Get It!

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... provided and guided in the wilderness, who brought them victorious into the Promised Land. They and they alone could have shown the nations of the world that power comes from God and God alone. But no. "Appoint for us a king." They opted for a different sort of power. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR...YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT! Israel got their king. Down through the centuries that followed, some of their monarchs were good, most were not. More battles were lost than won. There was a period during which the whole ...

1387. Therapy in Melody or Healing in 4/4 Time

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in, I was just about to fix myself a drink. Can I interest you in one?' "'Sure,' I said, 'if it's caffeine free, diet.' "He poured out the drinks, offered me a seat, reared himself back in his chair, feet on the disordered desk before him. "'What sort of day have you had?' I asked. "'A typical day,' he said, again sounding tired. 'Misery.' "'Oh, I'm sorry. What was miserable about it?' I asked. "'My day began with my assisting a couple evict their aging father from his house so they could take everything he ...

1388. Wise Leadership

1 Kings 2:1-12, 3:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... -time visitor); and • a day in Jerusalem visiting Israelis who are involved in the peace movement and visiting sights where Palestinian homes have been bulldozed. "Each day was full of events and meetings from early morning to late at night, so I'm still sorting out all the memories and impressions, two of which I'll share with you here. "DAMASCUS. The Evangelical Church of Damascus is located in the heart of the Old City not far from Ananias' house where Paul regained his sight and was baptized. "Old ...

1389. Theology in Snow

Psalm 147:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... ; the box in which the new refrigerator was delivered became a mansion. Kids know how to have tremendous fun with tremendously simple things. Sadly, most adults seem to have forgotten how to do that. If you put your mind to it, I am sure you would come up with all sorts of other pastimes in which children can find fun that we adults do not think of as fun at all. There are big differences between kids and grown-ups when it comes to knowing how to have fun, and perhaps this is a part of what Jesus meant when ...

1390. Integrity

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Solomon was the author - granted he was a lusty fellow with 700 wives and 300 concubines, but that in itself, in my view, would mitigate against his authorship (when would he have had time?). More likely, Solomon's name became attached to the book in some sort of dedication. The original-language title of this book (Song of Songs) is a Hebrew way of talking about the FINEST song just as "king of kings" means the greatest king.(1) Somebody, somewhere, way back, thought these love poems were the best of the ...

1391. The Handwriting on the Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... been seen by some in that day as a surprising source...Jeremiah. By this point in the prophet's career (probably 40+ years by now), he was fairly well known. He was NOT famous for bringing words of comfort and hope. If anything, he was seen as sort of a curmudgeon who was a constant gadfly to both the religious and political establishment. He had attacked the nation's religious hypocrisy that saw folks look on Temple worship as a national good luck charm - "As long as we go through the motions, all will be ...

1392. I'm On a Mission from God!

Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

... bills to pay, kids to shuttle, dinner to cook, a garage to clean out, and 10 pounds to lose ... on a mission from God?(1) YES! All these people may very well be on a mission from God. Just as you and I are. Truth be told, God chooses all sorts of folks to accomplish divine purposes in the world, even wildly improbable ones. Consider the sketch we read a moment ago which could have just as easily been written by the Saturday Night Live folks and starred a John Belushi or a Dan Ackroyd for the silliness of it ...

1393. Going Fishing

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... our own people well, outsiders will see this and want to become insiders." [Sound familiar?] Missing completely was any desire to find out about the spiritual needs of outsiders or to see if their congregation had resources to meet those needs. Also missing was any sort of strategy for reaching the unchurched of their area. Somebody want to check the bait box again? By the way, there is an ancillary bit of advice for those of you reluctant people-fishers who are afraid you might be using the wrong bait; in ...

1394. Real Religion

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... making sure that all God's children inherit their fair share of God's good gifts. And if they don't, because someone has swindled them out of their birthright or because they were not strong enough to hold on to it, justice means doing whatever is necessary to sort out what belongs to whom and return it to them."(3) It is not enough to wish for justice or to complain because it is lacking. This is a dynamic concept that calls on God's people to work for fairness and equality for all, particularly the weak ...

1395. In Praise of Petunias

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... showers bring May flowers, and I am ready. You, too? A beautiful time of the year in western Pennsylvania, isn't it? The colors, the textures, the scents of Spring are in the air. I love it. I know many of you are gardeners. I have no talent for that sort of thing (as my wife will attest) - I work well from the neck up, but when it comes to hands and knees, forget it. But I can talk, and this morning I come bringing you a good word about...petunias. I have found that gardeners are eager to show azaleas ...

1396. Tough Love

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of them but they refused to give anything but the most casual attention. Sure, they went along with some of the liturgical reforms that had been instituted by the king...but they had no choice; after all, he was the KING! The details made no difference to them; this sort of reform had happened before, but it would pass as soon as Josiah did. The shame of it was that they were right. But in Zephaniah's view, that did not make them any less stupid. Their sins had been pointed out to them over and over again ...

1397. A Religion that Shows

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... amount to much. It won't be all that special. What are we bothering for? Let's just give it up for a bad job and go on about our business." To be honest, those sentiments are echoed in churches all around the nation every week. They see all sorts of magnificent programs and staff that might be available to them; they see great community projects in which they could participate and make an impact in the name of Jesus; they see a tremendous work for God that cries out to be done...and then they see their bank ...

1398. Make It Right!

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... anger..." But note that he was not mad at anything they had done to him; rather, he was furious at the religious attitude which would ever make human compassion "illegal." Anyone with any kind of sensitivity should have been angry at that sort of thing. Then there was the incident in the temple.(2) The Lord became incensed at the callous commercialism there, the blatant money-grubbing of those who were taking advantage of honest worshipers by charging outrageous prices for sacrificial animals or something ...

1399. Public Piety

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"Beware of practicing your piety before others..." Hmm. Sort of flies in the face of what we do with these ashes here this evening. Come to think of it, is there any other ritual that we use that is so public an expression of our faith? As is my habit, I was watching the opening of the stock market ...

1400. The Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... ; but there was so much we were doing, we really had no idea how to begin. So we hated it. Perhaps you might have had the same experience. I did not think of it at the time, but something which might have proven helpful to us would have been some sort of outline provided by our counselors as an idea starter. If they had suggested to us that certain things would be of interest to our folks and then listed some of them, we might not have minded doing it so much. But there was no outline; we were left to ...

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