Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1626 to 1650 of 3852 results

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

James W. Moore

... mind and shut the voice of God out of your life? Mary’s hope and Isaiah’s hope were great, first of all, because they heard God’s voice. II. Second, Mary and Isaiah were persons of great hope because they obeyed God's will. In the original New Testament Greek, the word for faith is pistis, and it literally means “believing obedience”... believing in God so much that we commit ourselves body, mind, and soul to the doing of His will come what may. In one Peanuts cartoon, Linus, the statistician for ...

1627. A Famous Atheist Believes In God - Sermon Starter

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

... there is a gardener, invisible, intangible, insensible, to electric shocks, a gardener who has no scent and makes no sound, a gardener who comes secretly to look after the garden which he loves." At last the Skeptic despairs, "But what remains of your original assertion? Just how does what you call an invisible, intangible, eternally elusive gardener differ from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all?" That’s the opening and it’s a powerful parable. Dr. Flew became as popular in atheist ...

1628. Jesus and Andrew

John 1:35-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of love, “The Praying Hands.” The next time you see a copy of this touching creation, take a second look; let it be a reminder that no one… no one ever makes it alone! Take Simon Peter, for example. He was one of the great leaders of the original disciples of Jesus. He was one of the great servants of the early church. He was one of the most beloved and respected saints in the history of the world, but he did not achieve that all by himself. The truth is we are incredibly indebted to Simon Peter ...

1629. Under the Rainbow

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... beings is to say KADESH, glorifying and sanctifying God's name."(4) Just like Noah. I was equally intrigued to hear that the wonderful movie Schindler's List, the incredible story of how one man saved hundreds of Jews from the concentration camps, was originally titled Schindler's Ark.(5) Interesting. Back to the story. Noah worships. God responds. "Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that ...

1630. The Last Laugh

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... doctorates. I heard one preacher on the radio who had been given an honorary doctorate recalling the question of his son after the award: "Gee, dad, does this mean you can write prescriptions now?" Well, I have a prescription for you this morning...not original, but time tested for almost three-thousand years. It comes from the writer of Proverbs. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."(2) Abraham Lincoln, despite being caught up in the midst of the most disastrous war ...

1631. The Ten Commandments #8: No Stealing

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... out penalties for thieves: in most cases, either mutilation or death. The case law we find in Exodus 22(5) gives the penalties in the covenant community. Five oxen for a stolen ox, and four sheep for a stolen sheep, but only two for one if the originals are returned unharmed. If the thief is unable to make restitution, he "shall be sold for the theft." A slave. Actually, rather lenient sentences compared to Israel's neighbors, except in the case of a night time cat burglar who literally took his life in his ...

1632. The Ten Commandments #9: No False Witness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... years before the Ten Commandments, Hammurabi's code said the same thing. He even went so far as to lay out the sentence for those who were convicted of lying in court: they would have to bear the same penalty as the one who had been originally charged would have borne. For example, if someone perjured himself in a capital trial (where the penalty was death), then the one judged guilty of giving the false testimony was himself sentenced to die. To say the least, such stiff punishment would have tended to be ...

1633. The Ten Commandments #10: No Covetousness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... find it necessary to trade or sell the family farm, the children and grandchildren would not be permanently condemned to a landless underclass. The rule was that every 50th year, the year of Jubilee, all property would automatically revert to the family of original ownership - slaves were to be freed, land was to be returned.(3) Debts were to be canceled every seventh year.(4) People would regularly have the chance to start with a clean slate. In that way, no real or imagined injustice would be perpetuated ...

1634. Sunday Dinner

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... living as a uniquely Godly community - that contains some of the loftiest ethical teaching in all of Scripture. There are commands to honor our parents and the elderly, to be honest in business dealings, to be sensitive to the physically handicapped. It is the original source of Jesus' commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself." It is worth our attention. Listen to a portion of it. Leviticus 19:1-18 Solid teaching, not only for ancient Israel, but for any society that would be truly moral and just. In ...

1635. The Powerful Moments that Change Your Life Forever

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

James W. Moore

... are important, but have you thought about this – so are right questions! So the right question I want to raise with you today is this: How long has it been since you had a powerful moment that changed your life forever? The New Testament was written originally in common Greek and the Greeks had several different words for our one word love. Agape = unconditional love Eros = erotic… bargaining love (I’ll do this for you if you do that for me, which, if you think about it, is not really love at all ...

1636. Blessed Be The Title That Binds

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... God with at least a tithe will never lack the resources they need. That was true in ancient Israel; it is equally true right here today. Tithing need not be looked upon as an ecclesiastical version of extortion, not if we get back to the way it was originally celebrated in Deuteronomy. It can be a beautiful routine, a systematic way for people to come together, give thanks for all they have earned through the grace of God in a given year, support the good work of God's house, and care for the poor. It is ...

1637. Does God Care Who Wins the Superbowl?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Does God care who wins the Super Bowl? An intriguing question. Not original with me. It comes from an article in this week's Sports Illustrated by William Nack.(1) Of course, our national attention WILL be focused on San Diego this afternoon (a nice breather from the Washington sex scandals). The Super Bowl has grown into a phenomenon that has transcended being ...

1638. David and Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11:1-27, 12:1-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... and Mrs. Uriah had ventured directly from that bath to David's bedroom, we know what the answer has to be. Now David has to think fast. As Bathsheba's fertile body had conceived a child, David's fertile mind was conceiving a plan. Cover-up. The original Zippergate. David sends word to Commander Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sends him. David calls Uriah in, ostensibly for a report on the war. After hearing the news from the front, David tells Uriah, "Go down to your house, wash your feet (ahem ...

1639. Civil War Isn't!

2 Samuel 18:1-18, 19--19:8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... agreeing to immunity for Absalom, so the young man returns to Jerusalem. Perhaps the ship of state would have had smooth sailing after that if only David had not second-guessed himself. Instead of the welcome home and promised freedom that had been originally offered to Absalom, the young man was now placed under a modified house arrest with instructions that the he should have no contact with the king. Nonetheless, Absalom thrived and his reputation grew and prospered. Two years went by. Absalom wanted to ...

1640. Wise Leadership

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

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Solomon. The third king of Israel. The son of David and Bathsheba. Solomon is remembered for a number of things: his building program which included Jerusalem's original magnificent Temple, his immense wealth generated through trade and administrative reorganization, his 700 wives and 300 concubines (or PORcupines, as some Sunday School students will tell you), and his legendary wisdom, the result of the prayer we read in our lesson. If there is any single story commonly remembered of ...

1641. Year-Round Christmas

1 Kings 17:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"When elephants fight, the grass suffers." So goes an old African proverb.(1) The elephants in question here, Yahweh and Baal - gods competing for a nation's allegiance with the original weapons of mass destruction: drought and disaster; the grass, this widow and her son, caught in this cosmic struggle between fertility and famine. We meet one of faith's greatest heroes as this story begins. Elijah - no question whose side he is on; his name means YAHWEH IS MY GOD. ...

1642. Sermons in Stones

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... be seen both in the natural world and in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Historians of religion tell us that the Celtic way of perceiving things was pushed aside in the fifth century by orthodox Roman theology, which emphasized original sin and the fallenness of creation. Much of the church's discomfort with the world to this very day - with humanness, with sexuality - comes from that theological conflict. Can we get back to our roots, please? Scottish theologian George McDonald writes ...

1643. I'm Thankful for...

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... and everything that would seem to deny it...I am thankful that I know who is ultimately in charge; I am thankful that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! Happy Thanksgiving. Amen! 1. Carlos Wilton, via PresbyNet, "Bottom Drawer," #4004, 11/18/99 originally found in Family Circle Magazine 2. "Thanksgiving in America" by May Lowe from the book, Thanksgiving, Copyright (c) 1907 by Dodd, Mead, & Company 3. Graham Fowler, sermon via PresbyNet, "In Everything Give Thanks," 11/25/92 4. Excerpt from Presidential Proclamation ...

1644. Now That School's Out...

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... part of one percent about anything in our world." And this from the man who invented the light bulb, the movie projector, the phonograph and hundreds of other useful items, enough so that fully twenty percent of America today...1998...works on products that originated with him and his company! Edison was a truly wise man. In the spiritual realm, the truly wise also admit that there is MUCH we do not know. Yes, school is out for awhile. "No more pencils, no more books." The baccalaureate and commencement ...

1645. Integrity

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... - 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 bunch. Not only the ...

1646. The Handwriting on the Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... " disguise and become Israel's "Superman" Messiah. YES! Glory! But wait. What follows in the Gospel account is almost a stream-of-consciousness monologue which we who live on this side of the crucifixion and resurrection can understand, but it must have left his original hearers in a fog. Put yourself in their place. There was that statement about the grain of wheat having to "die" in the ground before it can bear fruit. What has that got to do with the conquering Messiah? That was followed immediately with ...

1647. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... in the Garden of Eden by viewing him as he is now. Imagine if you knew nothing of aircrafts and mankind’s ability of flight. Now imagine that you came upon the wreckage of an aircraft and you along with many others tried to reconstruct the original version of the aircraft. If we knew nothing of flying, we would hardly suspect that this pile of rubbish had once soared above the earth. The material would be the same; the capability of flight, however, would be lost. What we have lost is our understanding ...

1648. Make It Right!

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... even have apologized for saying them - but we did say them, and who knows what kind of long-lasting effect they might have had. Jesus says, "Watch it. That is dangerous." He gives a couple of examples. First, there is the deliberate insult. In the original language and in many translations of scripture it is left in the Aramaic: RACA. In Aramaic, raca is a term of derision roughly comparable to "worthless one" or "empty-head" or "contemptible one" or just plain garden-variety "idiot." The reason we find it ...

1649. The Lord's Prayer: "Lead Us Not Into Temptation"

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... could be more clear than that. God does NOT tempt people into sin. "Lead us not into temptation" is the cry of the anguished heart, terrified that it might not measure up. The second linguistic concern involves the final word of the petition: EVIL. In the original Greek, we find a definite article prior to the word, making the phrase read literally, "But deliver us from THE evil." We cannot tell whether Jesus, speaking in the vocabulary of his day, meant "the evil one," the devil, or if he meant "the evil ...

1650. Tragedy and Triumph

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... family. They become events that stay with us for reasons that are too deep to explain. I was in my study working on my sermon for the coming Sunday the day Challenger exploded (and as today, I ended up preaching a very different one than I had originally planned). I remember that there was a good deal of activity outside my door because members of the congregation were parading past coming in to look at family portraits that had been taken for the church's new pictorial directory. It had been a right jolly ...

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