Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1901 to 1925 of 3926 results

1901. Year-Round Christmas

1 Kings 17:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to her and let her know that she needs to feel no obligation whatsoever, and free her from the responsibility." I am not wise now [writes Gordon]; I was less wise then. I went and told her of the concern of the deacons. I told her as graciously and as supportively as I know how that she was relieved of the responsibility of giving. As I talked with her the tears came into her eyes. "I want to tell you," she said, "that you are taking away the last thing that gives my life dignity and meaning." I tried to ...

1902. A Disaster of Biblical Proportions

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... does. And that is all that matters. Amazingly, good has already begun to come out of this massive horror. The expressions of human solidarity, stretching across countries and continents, is one bright light. Relief organizations say that the outpouring of support from around the globe has been phenomenal. Good. Perhaps even our own government is beginning to come around. President Bush, after days of silence, emerged from his Texas vacation to issue a brief statement, and an offer of $15-million. Following ...

1903. God Bless America

Psalm 33:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... can do for you but what you can do for your country." Perhaps the BEST thing we can do is make that personal commitment to lives lives that are pleasing to our Lord, then demonstrating that commitment in the unselfish management of our resources, the prayerful support of our leaders, and a loving reaffirmation of the principles of "liberty and justice for all." Then with a full heart, we can truly pray: God bless America, land that I love; Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with the light from ...

1904. Who's The Boss?

Psalm 50:1-23

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... become convinced that nothing is more important than the bottom line - not quality, not dependability, not even honesty - just the bottom line. Politicians who deal with figures like a million here and a billion there become tempted to pass out financial rewards among supporters through questionable contracts, not to mention being tempted to find some way to divert some of those funds to personal use. This is another litany that could go on and on and on. All because it is so easy to take this wonderful ...

1905. An Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... gifts, and frankly, it is just good manners to say THANK YOU. Some years ago, at Christmas time, I felt that I wanted to buy a gift for a friend of mine who had been particularly helpful and encouraging during the year. He was a minister who had been most supportive as I prepared to go off to seminary. What do you get as a gift for a minister? Well, having grown up in a manse, I knew how much preachers appreciate books, so I set out to find one. I happened to know that this particular man was in the ...

1906. I'm Thankful for...

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... for these young men and women struck down in the prime of life for what far too many are convinced is a questionable purpose. So sad. So sad. But it is in those sad moments, the "faith nerve" is touched once again. And we remember the unshakeable truths that support us as we travel through the valley of darkest shadows. Thanksgiving Day, 2003, this Thursday. I am thankful for so much; there is so much for which to be thankful. And I am thankful most of all, in the face of all that life can throw at us, for ...

1907. Salvation

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... and arrows that life might throw our way. That is good news...news that ought to be shared. I suspect that most of us, at one time or another, has been in a worship service, Sunday School class, or mid-week meeting and heard some speaker encourage us to support foreign missions. An attempt may have been made to spur us on by telling us how many people die in India or China or some other field each day "without Christ." I have come to be concerned about that approach. I am concerned that our focus would be ...

1908. Thank God, We're Not Alone!

Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... out and shelling out for welfare programs. But if the common good is important, we WILL need to do something - money for job training and retraining, money for child care, money for remedial education, money to take care of those who are not physically able to support themselves. We have no choice if the common good is genuinely important. With the poet we will realize, No man is an island; No man stands alone; Each mans joy is joy to me; Each man's grief is my own. There are other points that could ...

1909. The Preacher Was A Bigot

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... regularly read about lynchings. Blacks do not have to go to the back of the bus. There are no longer white and "colored" restrooms or drinking fountains. We have a black Supreme Court Justice who is married to a white woman and whose chief supporter in his Senate confirmation hearings was Strom Thurmond - who woulda thunk it? Better. But... Listen to what one editorial in Florida had to say this past week as we remembered Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday: Perhaps the nation should thank Sen. Trent Lott ...

1910. A Religion that Shows

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... South Atlantic. Quite frankly, here at First Presbyterian in Warren, we are not faced with a challenge as visible as that one in Liberty Hill. But the challenges are there none the less...the challenge of maintaining an adequate staff, the challenge of mission support both at home and abroad, the challenge of providing Christian education for ourselves and our children, the challenge of being faithful disciples of Jesus in our own community. They might not be as visible as the need for a new manse, but they ...

1911. The "T" Word

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... appeals, other charities, are over and above. If you are not at that level, I suggest (and I bite my tongue as I do it) that you allocate at least five percent to the church and divide the rest among the other needs that you wish to support. If everyone did at least that, this congregation would be able to get its work done with no difficulty and you would be more faithful disciples. One of the things that has struck me over these past weeks of televised terrorism, anthrax anxiety, and worries about the ...

1912. The Lord's Prayer: "Our Daily Bread"

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that end, he founded an orphanage that became world-famous. The watchword of George Mueller's life was faith. He was absolutely convinced that God would provide every need, and that was the basis upon which the orphanage was operated: there was no particular church support, no fund-drives, no regular benefactors, only prayer to the God who promised to supply. One night, Mueller's staff came to him with the bad news that there was no food in the house for breakfast the next morning, and they wanted to know ...

1913. Ephphatha...Be Opened

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of The Presbyterian Layman, an independent publication known for its strident critiques of anything liberal. Pam Byers, an elder at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco and executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a group that supports the ordination of gays and lesbians, shared a sofa with the Rev. Jerry Andrews, a co-moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition, which opposes gay ordination. Amazing! Instead of talking ABOUT each other, they were actually talking WITH each other ...

1914. No Holding Back

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... if the money were available. Does loving my neighbor as myself mean that I do something about the problem? Of course, it does. And no holding back either. I was pleased to see that the Society of St. Andrew (which we at St. Paul support) recently was given the first Hero of Food Recovery and Gleaning Award by the US Department of Agriculture.(5) Since it began in 1979, the Society has collected more than 200-million pounds of fresh produce - perfectly nutritious food that might have some cosmetic deformity ...

1915. The View from Jesus' Pew

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... see the generous folks smile and the stingy ones squirm. I said I did not mind preaching about money because I was not preaching about MY money, but GOD's. I am older now, and whether I like it or not, the fact that my family and I are financially supported by what comes in the offering plate, for me to preach about tithes and offerings can be viewed with some legitimacy as feathering my own nest. I do not want people to think that, and the easiest way to avoid it is to avoid the subject as much as possible ...

1916. When Your Church Provokes You

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

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... do for me? What can I get out of it?" This is backwards, of course. The gospel begins with GIVING -- "For God so loved the world that he GAVE..." -- and we respond by giving of ourselves (including our money) in return. That giving then supports ministries of all sorts - ministries of teaching, preaching, healing, feeding, services of amazing variety - with the result that great work is accomplished in the name of Jesus Christ. And that work happens because we give. OK, enough with the provoking to love and ...

1917. The Apostles' Creed: "Suffered, Dead, and Buried..."

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... here in the west. Oriental cultures think nothing at all of four generations living under the same roof - they do not raise their children to leave. Tied in with that is a special understanding of what it means to be family, not only in terms of mutual support, but also of family honor and family shame. A person may be guilty, but that guilt has a ripple effect - the person's family members and tribe will end up feeling shame. We understand that to a degree. What are the feelings of the parents and siblings ...

1918. A Fool and his Money

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . The little pain he felt and ignored had been the warning of something more massive. At the farmer's funeral many fine words were spoken. He was an example to the community, he was a big barn builder, always willing to help his neighbor in times of need, a strong supporter of community charities. A fine man, a fine man. But that night, the angel of God walked through the cemetery and wrote on the man's headstone the letters F O O L. "So are all of you", Jesus said, "who are rich in the things of this world ...

1919. Rock Solid Living

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... his wife was behind a car that sported three bumper stickers: The first one read, “Don’t be fooled by genetically engineered food--demand labels and safety testing for food”; the second bumper sticker read, “Eat for the health of it”; and the third read, “Support organic farmers.” The car was in front of her at a McDonald’s drive-through. (5) It’s difficult to have an impact in the world if we are saying one thing and doing another! You may or may not think that former president Jimmy ...

1920. Mary's Song

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... was "with child" was to visit Elizabeth, her older kinswoman."Mary's journey into the Judean hill country (to visit her cousin Elizabeth) was no leisurely stroll along a country road. Given the difficulties and dangers that the landscape posed, her support network ” Elizabeth and family ” must have been especially valuable to her. . . the hill country was rather bleak. The eastern slopes were mostly impassable desert, stretching 10 to 15 miles from their highest point, 3000 feet near Hebron, down to the ...

1921. "Weird People" Everywhere

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... that nonsense from Maggie Thatcher! I see her over there, gloating at me." "More bad news, I'm afraid," said the Angel. "That's not Mrs. Thatcher. That's God." (1) Susan B. Anthony called on editor Horace Greeley one day in 1860 to ask for his newspaper's support for women's suffrage. Greeley was not sympathetic. He was an opponent of women's rights, mainly because he considered women to be of no military value. "What would you do," he asked, "in the event of a civil war?" "I would do just what you would do ...

1922. The Pitcher Is Not Alone In This

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... , the more one realizes that there is no particular thing that you can do alone. With the execution of the work that we do there are many people ” those who wrote the music, those who made the piano on which the accompanist is playing, the accompanist who lends support to the performances... So the I in it is very small indeed." That is also how it is in the church. Each of us is important ” regardless of what our area of service might be. This brings us to the second thing that needs to be said: EACH ...

1923. Now Is The Day Of Salvation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... increased tendency toward "alphabetic neurosis," a mental illness brought on by "the constant strain of waiting for one's name to be reached in the classroom and in other situations." He derived his theory from a scientific article that actually found little evidence to support the idea. (1) I believe we will all agree that is an unique defense. I can remember being stressed out in class when the teacher was calling on people. I can remember slinking in my chair and avoiding eye contact. But it had nothing ...

1924. Messies Anonymous

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ms. Felton responded to all the mail, published a newsletter and hired a computer consultant. There are now 18 Messies Anonymous groups around the country with more than 7,000 members. Anyone wanting to start one can contact Ms. Felton for information and support. She keeps the information simple so as not to overburden the already disorganized person. A newsletter is available; dues are $10 per year. (1) Do you know any likely candidates for Messies Anonymous? St. Paul is not writing about people who keep ...

1925. Role Models

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... as your role model, you will need to make a very special kind of commitment. Last November, Dr. Avi BenAbraham, resident of the American Cryogenics Society, told an audience in Washington, D.C., that several highranking Roman Catholic Church leaders support human embryo cloning, despite the church's public stance against such research. According to BenAbraham, those church leaders hope to reproduce Jesus Christ from DNA fibers found on the Shroud of Turin. (7) If Dr. BenAbraham is right, somebody needs ...

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