Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1376 to 1400 of 3099 results

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... will chair the plenary sessions, then breaks into pre-assigned committees, through which business items (some 800 of them this year) are filtered and screened; 50 or so random Presbyterians, selected by computer, are asked to become scholars of some subjects they may never have thought much about before - stewardship, evangelism, ecumenical relations, health concerns, global politics, etc., etc., etc. One of my friends describes it this way: "as unfair, as clumsy, and exactly as noble a tribute to the human ...

1377. Ban the "Buts"

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... just like when I go to my mom's. It's a little homecoming every other Saturday. I don't even miss the ironing. Beautiful. Is there a BUT that is hindering your Christian journey? A BUT that is keeping you from a blessing? An expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will probably never forget. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then ...

1378. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is not only waiting to take us back, but so anxious for our return that he comes running to meet us. But if that is the only point of what Jesus was trying to get across, why did he not quit after verse 24, and move on to some other subject? I think the answer is that there is a whole lot more Sonny in most of us than there is Junior. Sure, most all of us have fallen to sins of the flesh during our lives. As we look back, there are probably episodes we wish had never happened, and ...

1379. Hard to Believe

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told about a journey Bukharin took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it. An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of people's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin ...

1380. The Christ of the Commonplace

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... yearn to see more than anyone in the world? Cleopas and Elizabeth are followers of Jesus, after all. They care about him; they lingered in Jerusalem after his death, risking arrest, until they heard those bewildering rumors of resurrection. On the road, he was even the subject of their conversation. Yet, they STILL fail to recognize him. The answer, I think, is as simple as they did not EXPECT to see him. The same thing may have happened to you too at some time or another. Have you ever been in a faraway ...

1381. The Gift of Fire

Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... or colognes that you would not wear for fear of dropping everyone in the room into a faint...horrible pictures from some rich, ugly old relative that are suitable only for the attic. There are some gifts we do not know how to handle. Now, let me change the subject for a moment. Let's talk about FIRE. Fire is fascinating. Little children say they want to grow up to be firefighters. If you hear that there is a fire in the neighborhood, chances are you will go out to watch it...which, of course, creates a big ...

1382. Good News For Parents And For Kids, Too!

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... down and lived among us for awhile then went back to God. The writers of the New Testament go to great pains to emphasize that Jesus was a real person. When he came into the world he totally emptied himself of his unique divinity and became as we are ” subject to all of the temptations, heartaches and hurts you and I are capable of. We need to understand: Jesus was a real 12-year-old boy. There is a story about little Bobby who was picking up the toys which he had scattered about the room. The visiting ...

1383. What We Have Is A Communication Problem

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... Brian has managed is a form of scapegoating. By reading a nonexistent metasignal of disapproval into his mother's voice, he has been able to make a decision without taking the blame for it. A fast mental shuffle has convinced him of his mother's incongruity on the subject of Lisa. It's a handy way of lessening his own feelings of guilt, and in truth no harm is done by it unless his mother is conned into believing that she initiated Brian's break with Lisa. "Did I really sound that disapproving?" she may ask ...

1384. Beaten And Bloody, But Fortunate Nonetheless

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... the encouragement he could get. (1) He was a leader in his community, but he was a very needy person. And so are we all. I'm reminded of the little girl who lived in a very ritzy neighborhood whose teacher asked her to write a composition on the subject of poverty. The little girl started her essay like this: "Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her chauffeur was poor, her butler was poor. They all were very, very poor." In a sense the little girl was right. All of ...

1385. Overcoming "Work-avoidance Syndrome"

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... a gripping device to measure grip strength. The average grip of the experimental group was 101 pounds. By means of hypnosis, participants were told that they were very weak, and their average grip strength dropped to 29 pounds. Still under hypnosis, the subjects were then told that they were very strong. Their average grip strength quickly rose to 142 pounds. The difference? What they believed. When they believed they were weak, they became 79 percent weaker. When they believed they were strong they became ...

1386. Thankful Day By Day

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an Israeli folktale about a king named Shah Abbas who wanted to get to know his subjects. At night he would dress himself as a monk and go out to the poor part of town to see how these people lived. One day the disguised king came to a simple hut, where he met a cobbler. The cobbler was a poor man who was just barely able ...

1387. Christ The King

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... professor of mathematics at Cambridge University and one of the world's most brilliant people. "My proposal," Hawking says, "is the statement that the universe is a closed system. We don't need to suppose there's something outside the universe which is not subject to its law. It is the claim that the laws of science are sufficient to explain the universe." This "theory of everything" causes people to stop and ask: "If laws of science can explain everything, then where does God fit in?" Hawking's credentials ...

1388. Connected

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? We hear someone say, "I have connections." It means "I have access to power, wealth. I can get it done." There's a humorous story about another successful businessman who was invited to deliver the commencement address at a school. He elected to speak on the subject, "How to Succeed." As he entered the door leading to the auditorium stage, he noticed the word PUSH printed in bold letters on the outside. He thought that would be a good theme for his speech PUSH. When he hit the high point of his speech, he ...

1389. Mark Twain's Briefcase And A Great Mental Attitude

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... read the story many times, on this day it suddenly made sense. She could see how Jacob's suffering and eventual joy mirrored her own story. She realized that her suffering was heightening her sense of the presence of God. She felt inspired to write a poem on the subject, a poem that would eventually become a hymn. It went like this: "Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross That raiseth me; Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!" Through the years this ...

1390. A Soap Opera For Saints

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

Guin Ream Tuckett was asked to teach a junior high Sunday School class. All went well until she reached the lessons on sex. This is not a subject that is easy for adults working with this particular age group to broach. Although Guin worked out a well-balanced, Biblically-based lesson, her kids seemed pretty uninterested. That is, until one kid asked if there were sex stories in the Bible. Guin assured them that there were both good ...

1391. A Pre-christmas Faith

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... . On the sign was this message in front of the church: "Soul & Heart Redemption Center." Remember the description of the prodigal Son's change of heart: "He came to himself." The following is an account of a young man whose life history was the subject of a government report on juvenile delinquency: A young man who was a very serious problem to his parents and local authorities because of his antisocial behavior, spent several weeks one summer in a peaceful rural area with members of a religious group well ...

1392. Peace

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... , the world can yet be saved from destruction. Perhaps you know the legend about the big tower full of bells ”there were 12 of them. And each of them thought that he must be more important than the rest, and so they had an argument on the subject. Number One bell said, "Well, I’m Number One, of course, I’m the most important. I ring first, there can be no doubt about that." Number Two interrupted, "No, no, no, One is nothing without Two." Number Three chipped in rather angrily and said, "If you boys ...

1393. Unwrapping Christmas

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... harder to unwrap Christmas. It has given us shrink wrap, which defies all attempts to tear it. We have fiber strapping that some knives won't cut. And we have adhesives that you can't get off with dynamite. I ran across a poem dealing with this subject, by Mary Elizabeth Counselman, that inspired the title for this sermon. "Hats off to you makers of gadgets galore. Hooray for your shipping and stackage. But why do you make it so hard, more and more, To take all your wares from the package? Your cartons and ...

1394. The Deeper Meaning Of Christmas

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... " emptied himself and become one of us. Walter Trobisch tells about an African chief he once ministered to named Rey Bouba. Chief Rey Bouba was an impressive man standing six feet, six inches tall. However, this noble chieftain rarely left his palace. Most of his subjects had never seen him. It was difficult to get past all the guards and have an audience with him. Those who did get in to see him could only approach with bowed heads and their eyes on the ground. Trobisch tells that when he visited Chief ...

1395. God Spoke

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... whose experiences with God are recorded in our Bible. That is why this book is so precious to us. It is not a book of magic or even of hidden meanings. It is not a book of philosophy, psychology or social science—though many books on these subjects have been derived from it. The Bible is the record of God’s speaking through the ages to men and women—seeking to communicate through flawed humanity His plan and His purpose. We do ourselves a great disservice by our neglect of this magnificent document. I ...

1396. See My Hands and Feet

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... hump. On the last day of his visit he went to tell her goodbye. Her face seemed to beam with beauty but when he entered, she cast her eyes to the floor. Mendelssohn's heart ached for her. After some small talk, he slowly drew to the subject that filled his mind. "Do you believe that marriages are made in Heaven?" he asked. "Yes," replied the young woman. "And do you?" "Of course," Mendelssohn answered. "I believe that at the birth of each child, the Lord says, `That boy shall marry that girl.' But in ...

1397. God Of Compassion

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... . "Don't be deceived by what you see," the priest responded. "Many years ago an artist was commissioned to create a statue for the cathedral. As he sought a young woman to pose as the model for his sculpture, he found one who seemed to be the perfect subject. She was young, serenely lovely, and had a mystical quality in her face. The image of that young woman inspired his statue of Mary. The woman who now worships the statue is the same one who served as its model years ago. Shortly after the statue was put ...

1398. Leadership Styles For A New Millennium

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's pictures reflected the kids' disillusionment with a God who didn't seem to hear their prayers or feel their pain. One nineyearold, identified as Chris G., used up all his film taking pictures of the sky. When an interviewer asked him why he chose this as his subject, Chris answered that the sky is where Heaven is, and his little sister, Tina, was in Heaven. As he explained, "There was a fire. My mom got out, but she (Tina) didn't. She died at a bad age." The interviewer asked, "If God is as powerful as ...

1399. Behold The Lamb

John 1:29-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... problems to One who is big enough to overcome any problem. We are to finish the work begun by our Lord 2,000 years ago--the work of reconciling the world unto God. Leonardo da Vinci had started a work on canvas in his studio. He chose a subject, sketched its outer lines, shaded here and lightened there. About half way through his work, however, he halted his sketching. He turned to a student of his and said, “I want you to finish the work that I have started.” The student protested. He surely was not ...

1400. Choose Life!

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the change Christ can make in a person’s life. Perhaps Bramlett’s greatest testimony, however, is his son Don. Don played in the NFL, as well. Don still has a Christmas letter that he penned in an elementary school classroom many years ago. The subject was “All I Want for Christmas Is . . .” Here is what young Don Bramlett wrote: “All I want for Christmas is for my family and me to have a very Merry Christmas like the other two Christmases we’ve had. My dad was out drinking and fighting ...

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