Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1651 to 1675 of 3852 results

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... at the head's bidding. Through history we can see some strange (and even awful) things that the church has done in the name of its head, but overall, the record of the church's accomplishments in making life on this planet more as God originally intended is remarkable. Paul says Christ is the "beginning" of the church - not only the "inventor" in time and space, but also the SOURCE of its life and being. He is the "firstborn from the dead" - this Christ is not some fascinating figure of history through ...

1652. Good News for Tenant Farmers

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... guarantee results. We can give it our best effort, but cannot completely control the outcome. Only God can do that. And God is convinced that in the end, when it comes to [that] harvest the results will be abundant."(4) Hmm. The Parable of the Sower. In the original version, I suspect we would identify Jesus as the farmer, the seed as the gospel, and the field as the world. I would cast you and me, not as those types of soil with which we may have been identified in years past, but rather as tenant farmers ...

1653. The Apostle's Creed: Jesus Christ...Our Lord

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... born at all! This divine character actually took on human flesh, laid aside the "perks" of heavenly office, and became a man. This affirmation was never meant to prompt or encourage non-Christians into joining the band of believers in response to Jesus' supernatural origins. It was actually to slap down an argument that some Christians had put forward denying that Jesus was the same kind of human being that you and I are. They wanted to say that, if Jesus were truly divine (as everyone believed), then he ...

1654. The Power to Change the Past

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... x 77...on to infinity...forgiveness with no limit at all. The Lord then told the story of the servant forgiven a humongous debt who went out and dealt mercilessly with a fellow servant who owed him a tiny bit - 1/600,000th of the original amount. No forgiveness here - Debtors' Prison. The king heard about what happened, called the servant in and had HIM imprisoned because he was not willing to show the same forgiveness he himself had been shown. Jesus' conclusion was, "So my heavenly Father will also do to ...

1655. Following Orders

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... nations." In the King James Version of this passage with which many of us grew up, the rendering is "TEACH all nations." A more literal translation of the Greek would be "MAKE LEARNERS of all nations." What is striking in looking at the verse in the original language is that, of all the orders that are given, this one...to MAKE LEARNERS...is the only main verb in the entire series. What we have in English as GO, would be better translated as GOING. The BAPTIZING and TEACHING obedience to the commandments of ...

1656. A Lesson in the Snow

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... wine are a-waiting, Christ Jesus invites us today. Amen! 1. Doug Behm, via Ecunet, "Illustrations for this Week," #447, 9/28/97 2. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 285. 3. I have seen this story in a number of places so the original source has faded into the ether. The telling here comes from James W. Moore in a sermon entitled, "Jesus and the Man Born Blind, http://www.esermons.com.

1657. The Discipline of Discipleship

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... who has turned his or her heart over to Jesus Christ." That's FINE...as far as it goes. It means discipleship is defined in terms of worship and of sacrificial service: doing acts of mercy, patiently enduring persecution, and so on. But if we get back to the original meaning of the word...MATHETES...a disciple is first and foremost A LEARNER. Discipleship is not only an act of the heart, but also an act of the HEAD. Perhaps we can get a clearer picture of what is involved in the process by taking a look at ...

1658. "A Friend Indeed"

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... not - it is not the clearest. I wondered why in the world someone who is in need should be considered a genuine friend. Instead I rather agreed with whichever wag adjusted the saying to "A friend in need is a PEST!" Finally I realized that the original version meant that a friend to YOU when YOU are in need is a friend indeed. AHA! THAT I believe. Of course, the gospel expects Christians to befriend those who need help. The Good Samaritan story pops to mind. Juxtapose that with our ongoing FRIENDSHIP MONTH ...

1659. When Your Church Provokes You

Matthew 13:1-23, Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... was exquisite in every way. Sadly, that structure had been leveled by Nebuchadnezzar when the nation was carried off into exile in Babylon. Once God's people were allowed to return to their homeland, a second temple was built, but it paled in comparison to the original, and folks were embarrassed by it. Even so, for 500 years, that had been the center of Jewish worship. Along came the Romans and, at the pleasure of Caesar, Herod the Great as king in Israel. Herod knew that the Temple was not all the Jews ...

1660. The Apostles' Creed: "Suffered, Dead, and Buried..."

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... righteous heavenly judge. Justice is served. But, of course, there is a basic flaw in the argument. Simply because an injured party has restitution paid on behalf of the one who caused the injury in the first place in no way restores the original relationship. There is no reconciliation there, not in any meaningful sense. One more. The SATISFACTION theory. This is similar to the one we just discussed. It recognizes the substitutionary character of Christ's death - he did it on our behalf; it recognizes the ...

1661. The Trouble with Stables

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a stable is not a pretty place. The light is not that good. Walk into a stable and take a deep breath...if you dare. Whew!!! No, those marvelous sights and smells we associate with our modern celebration have nothing to do with our conception of the original event. But now it is the Christmas season and suddenly stables take on a different image. Instead of the dark, grimy, smelly places that they really are, we let our minds picture them as much more socially acceptable. In our house, we have I-don't-know ...

1662. Fish Bait

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... icy (I cheerfully fix both) and leaves no tip at all. As a general rule, people wearing crosses or WWJD? ("What Would Jesus Do?") buttons look at us disapprovingly no matter what we do, as if they were confusing waitressing with Mary Magdalene's original profession.”(5) I doubt that her description would fit many Presbyterians, but you and I both know folks like that. Talk about your rotten bait! As her account moves forward, Barbara talks of working for a maid service in Portland, Maine. Not much money ...

1663. Happy Birthday, Dear Church

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

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... birthday, Dear Church. By the way, you will occasionally hear a preacher here or there on this annual observance refer to the FIRST Pentecost, meaning the one we read about in our lesson. Not exactly accurate. As you Bible scholars know, Pentecost was not originally a Christian observance. Ancient Jews celebrated the day as a spring harvest festival, the 50th day after Passover. When the holiday was centuries old, a religious "spin" was put on it, and Pentecost came to be the time to remember the giving of ...

1664. Different From A Camel's Hair Sport Coat

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... been force-fed the wrath of God while they were kids, and have been so turned off, that now they've walled themselves from the love of God. John Calvin was right. Fearing God must yield to loving God. John spoke about the need to repent. In the original Greek the word for repentance is "metanoia" which is not just changing one's mind, nor one's decision, nor one's direction, but is turning toward God. All of us need that repentance, for if we take seriously being Christians, we cannot be content with lip ...

1665. I Have Been Baptized

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... purpose of baptism is to give us a new identity. The word baptizo was a term that was used in the first century for dipping a light-colored garment into a dye. Once the fabric was dipped into the dye, it would be changed in its identity from its original color to a new color. The act of dipping it, resulting in changing its identity, was called baptizo. It is the Greek term from which we get our English word baptism. (3) "Once we were no people," says the Old Testament writer, "but now we are God's people ...

1666. Now Is The Day Of Salvation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... you." Are you familiar with the expression, "knock on wood?" Many people knock on wood before undertaking a project for good luck. Will Rogers once humorously said: "I always knock on wood before I make my entrance." The "knock on wood" superstition is alleged to have originated in the practice of touching wood on the occasion of good fortune in gratitude to Christ who is associated with a wooden cross. (4) We all ought to be knocking on wood daily for what Christ has done for us. Someone has said that long ...

1667. The Secret Ingredient Of Success

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... genius ” but was it innate or did it grow out of their dedication to developing what they had been given? Somerset Maugham said it best in his autobiography SUMMING UP, "I knew that I had no lyrical quality, a small vocabulary, little gift of metaphor. The original and striking simile never occurred to me. Poetic flights...were beyond my powers. On the other hand, I had an acute power of observation, and it seemed to me that I could see a great many things that other people missed. I could put down in ...

1668. Role Models

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

When the play Peter Pan first premiered in London in 1904, the author, Sir James Barrie began to hear from parents upset with the play. They asked him to make a change. In the original version, Peter Pan told the Darling children that if they believed strongly enough that they could fly, they would fly. Apparently, children who had seen the play had taken Peter's word literally and hurt themselves attempting to fly. Without hesitation, Barrie altered the script to include a cautionary statement ...

1669. Finding Glory

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... machine or listen to apologies of others without ever having to deal with the real damage they did to another human being. They can now dump that garbage without any real accountability. That's a handy system. It would not pay off for its originator if there were not so many people carrying around so much guilt. Guilt may be the most serious undiscussed problem in our society. There are people who are lying in hospital rooms today because of unresolved guilt. There are marriages coming apart because of ...

1670. Beaten And Bloody, But Fortunate Nonetheless

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... love, AND WE ARE REMINDED THAT ONCE UPON A TIME WE LAY BY THE ROAD. Here is where grace enters the picture. All of us know the essential lessons of this ancient parable. We are to help people in need. Regardless of their religion, their race, their national origin, we are to stop and try to help. But where does the power for such selfless love come from? It comes from recognizing that once upon a time when we least expected it or deserved it ” while we were yet sinners ” Christ died in our behalf. It is ...

1671. Hope For Those Whom Life Has Cheated

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

According to Victor Borge, the composer Bizet was the original hard-luck man. He stayed up nights to finish an opera by the deadline, only to find out afterwards that the production had been postponed for a year. He wrote a symphony and misplaced the manuscript before anybody could play it. He entered a composing contest with only one other ...

1672. Overcoming "Work-avoidance Syndrome"

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... quote from the twentieth chapter and thirteenth verse of the book of Proverbs," Linus says. "Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty." Snoopy flips over onto his stomach with his ears raised high. He then sits up and ponders what Linus said. As he resumes his original position he thinks to himself, "I stayed awake all day yesterday and I was still poor." Today's lesson from the epistle sounds more like it is from Newt Gingrich than the Apostle Paul. Paul writes, "For even when we were with you, we gave you ...

1673. Was The President's Advisor's Sin Really That Bad?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... respect. As a follower of Jesus you are to honor God with your body. Your body is a vessel through which you offer God praise. It is to be kept pure and wholesome as a fit dwelling for that which is Divine. Which brings us back to our original question: Did the President's advisor do anything all that wrong when he consorted with a prostitute? Let's let St. Paul answer that question from our lesson from the Epistle: "Do you not know," he writes, " that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore ...

1674. Be Careful Which Entree You Choose

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... road. The next day, it was still there. At one point when MacDonald was checking out the van, he saw a car pull up behind it. He was relieved that the driver had returned for his vehicle. And then he realized that the man in the car was not the original driver. The newcomer climbed in the van, and 90 seconds later came back out with the van's radio in his hands. Later, MacDonald also saw two men come by and, in a matter of minutes, steal two of the tires off the van. By the next morning, the van ...

1675. The Problem With The Big Ten

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round of the Western Open. He had moved his marker on a green to get it out of another player's putting line. One or two holes later, he couldn't remember if he had moved his ball back to its original spot. Unsure, Love gave himself an extra stroke. As it turned out, that one stroke caused him to miss the cut and get knocked out of the tournament. If he had made the cut and then finished dead last, he would have earned $2000 for the week. When the year ...

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