Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2051 to 2075 of 2844 results

2051. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Did you happen to see that wonderful story in Thursday's paper about five-year-old Branden Lake in Youngsville who called 9-1-1 last Sunday morning to get help for his Mom who was lying unconscious on the bathroom floor?(1) Adding spice to the account was the fact that the emergency dispatcher on the other end of the call was the boy's Dad, Todd Lake. Everything turned out all right - mother Karen's collapse was due to dehydration brought about by a viral condition, and she was back home from the hospital ...

2052. The Discipline of Discipleship

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

DISCIPLINE. Dirty word these days. DISCIPLESHIP. Not so dirty a word, but obviously related to the other. Discipline, discipleship, disciple...all come from the same Latin root which has to do with LEARNING. In fact, the Greek word which we translate in the English New Testament as "disciple" is mathetes, a LEARNER. What brings this subject to mind is our continuing national fascination with the just-completed Olympic games and grows out of that wonderful biblical imagery used so regularly by the apostle ...

2053. One Shock after Another

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

You are familiar with Thoreau's aphorism that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." You may even believe it. 'Tis true that for far too many, day fades into night then into day again with no real joy, no excitement, no exhilaration. Existence is BLAH...if even that good. Boring. Unfortunately, things are not that simple. In fact, just the opposite is true. Yes, there ARE boring, blah times in our lives - those may even make up the major portion of our lives - but what define us are those times ...

2054. Been There, Done That, No Thanks!

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

"There have been a lot of changes around here," said the old man proudly, "and I want you to know I've been against every one of them." Have you ever noticed that some people have a difficult time with change? Some people would rather fight than switch. Their motto seems to be "Don't rock the boat even if it's the Titanic!" Of course, some changes are difficult to accept. As someone has said, "It just doesn't seem right to go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's condo." And not all change ...

2055. God Is Greater

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A new kind of modern airplane was on an experimental flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A few minutes after the takeoff the captain's voice was heard from the loudspeakers: "I'm delighted to be your pilot, and the captain of this airplane on its first historical flight. I can tell you that the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I still have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers that are sitting on the right side can, if they look through the window, see ...

2056. Created For Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

An interesting thing was happening in prisons in Colorado back in 1992 according to an issue of LIFE magazine of that year. Prison officials were perplexed by the growing number of inmates who were choosing to serve out their whole prison sentences rather than bargain for less time at parole hearings. Since Colorado~s prisons are overcrowded, and since parole hearings sometimes result in less time in jail, prison officials were dumbfounded by this new trend. Was it due to guilty consciences? A peak season ...

2057. When What's Lost Is Found

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Ken Davis tells a delightful story in his book, I DON'T REMEMBER DROPPING THE SKUNK, BUT I DO REMEMBER TRYING TO BREATHE. He writes that one morning, not long after Diane and he were married, he saw her wedding ring lying on the bathroom sink. He thought it would be great fun to make her think it was lost, so he hid the ring. That evening, Diane asked him if he had seen her ring. He wasn't ready for the joke to be over yet, so he said no. Late at night, he woke up to the sound of uncontrollable sobbing. " ...

2058. What's This World Coming To Anyway?

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Randolph W. Barr

When Pastor Smith walked into the kitchen at church to get another bowl of soup at the mid-week Lenten soup supper he saw Hank on his knees pushing at the dishwashing machine and Wayne with a rag mop ready to swab the deck of the good ship St. John's Church. Both men were still dressed from the day's work, at the office for Hank and on the road, selling, for Wayne. Suit coats were off. Shirt sleeves were rolled up. Ties were now loose around their necks. Pastor Smith thought that he had walked into the ...

2059. A Time For Miracles

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

A story came across the Internet recently. Whether it is true or not is unknown. It is allegedly a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies on global organized crime. According to this report, FBI agents conducted a raid of a psychiatric hospital in San Diego that was under investigation for medical insurance fraud. After hours of reviewing thousands of medical records, the dozens of agents had worked up quite an appetite. The agent in charge of the investigation called a nearby pizza ...

2060. Mark Twain's Briefcase And A Great Mental Attitude

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Mark Twain was taking a train trip. He didn't want to carry his briefcase with him, so he asked a baggage handler if he thought the briefcase was strong enough to be checked and placed in the baggage compartment. The baggage handler shrugged, took Twain's case, and promptly hurled it to the pavement. "That, sir," he said, "is what she'll get in Philadelphia." Then he picked it up and struck it five or six times against the side of the train car. "And that," he continued, "is what she'll get in Chicago." ...

2061. A Time For Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

Advent is a time of hope and anticipation. It speaks not only of the blessed event of the birth of the Christ child but also of that day when the triumphant Christ shall establish his reign over every heart ”when "nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." as Isaiah describes that eternal hope. Paul describes that glorious day this way, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians. 2: ...

2062. The God Of Peace

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

The NEW YORK TIMES one Christmas carried a picture of a priest walking through a metal detector manned by Israeli troops on the occupied West Bank. As soldiers looked on, the elderly priest, cane in hand, walked solemnly through the security device. As paradoxical as this picture is, one is inclined to say that some things never change. The imagination would say that this is perhaps something like it was on the first Christmas morn. The caption for the TIMES picture read like this: "In Bethlehem, Christmas ...

2063. Mustard Seed Faith

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Mackie Shilstone is 5'8" and weighs only 137 pounds, but he trains some of the largest professional athletes in the countryfor example, pro basketball player Ralph Sampson, St. Louis shortstop Ozzie Smith, Will Clark of the Giants, Billy Hobbley of the Harlem Globetrotters. Mackie is not content just to train athletes physically. He wants to help change their lifestyles and ways of thinking as well. "I tell my athletes that they do have control over what their attitude will be about life. Their positive ...

2064. Something Is Missing

John 6:24-35

Sermon

King Duncan

Somerset Maugham was described by TIME magazine at the time of his death in 1978 as "the most famous author in the world." Eighty million copies of his books had been sold, his plays were performed worldwide, his work had led to several good films, and 80 of his short stories had been adapted for television. At his famous home in Europe he employed one of the best cooks on the Riviera, dined on silver plates and entertained royalty. He also was one of the unhappiest men to walk the planet. What was wrong ...

2065. Walk Wisely

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a beautiful summer day and Clarence was enjoying a row in the boat with his lovely girlfriend, anticipating the picnic they would have when they got to the island in the center of the lake. These were days when young men and young ladies wore more than shorts and tshirts when out in public. Clarence had donned a spiffy suit with a high collar, and his female companion had on a long dress with billowing petticoats underneath. Clarence masculinely pulled on the wooden oars as his date sat cooly under ...

2066. Polished Up For Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

It's not easy to get ready for Christmas. For one thing there is so much to do. For many of us this is the busiest time of the year. It is also the most nerve-wracking, particularly if you are a person who does not enjoy shopping. I read a statistic with which many men in our congregation will relate. The Mall of America published a poll recently that states that 31 percent of men believe they have a better chance of winning the Heisman trophy than finding the right holiday gifts for their wives. Only 18 ...

2067. Do We Know What We've Got?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Our lesson from Matthew’s Gospel for today reminds me of a story of a pastor in a drought-stricken part of Alabama last summer who implored his people to pray for rain. In fact, he asked each member of the church to join in a prayer vigil that would continue day and night until God granted their request. Never had there been a greater sense of urgency in that church than was revealed over the next few days. At any hour, one might pass that small rural church and find the lights on and someone at the altar ...

2068. The Way Life Ought To Be

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

We all love happy endings. We like to see life work out. There is a story about Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn. He once listened to director Billy Wilder describe in detail the true life story of a famous artist. Wilder thought it would make a great movie. "Does it end happy?" Goldwyn wanted to know. "Well," said Wilder, "it winds up with the guy in an insane asylum thinking he's a horse." Goldwyn threw Wilder out the door. But Wilder wasn't discouraged. He poked his head back in and said, "Okay, how about ...

2069. Lesson From Five Maidens

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Ten young ladies were on their way to a wedding. Five of the girls were wise and had prepared for the trip, making certain that they had enough oil to fuel their lamps. Five maidens were foolish. Their minds were preoccupied with other things. It was still light when they left home, but now darkness was coming. The bridegroom was delayed. Their lamps were running out of oil and they had none in reserve. They asked the five wiser maidens if they could borrow some oil from them, but they were refused. "Go ...

2070. Why Did He Do It?

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Each Lenten season we come to the same troubling question. Why did Judas betray his Master? Thirty pieces of silver was a paltry sum. Why go to the trouble? There is evidence to indicate that before the betrayal, Judas had a place of honor among the disciples. The fact that he was the treasurer shows he was trusted. John 13:29 indicates that he may have been reclining alongside Jesus at the last supper. He was in a place of honor. Why in Heaven's name did he do it? What caused him to betray innocent blood ...

2071. Hey! I Want To Believe!

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

David McKechnie tells a great story about a rather unlikely speaker who came to Bob Jones University sometime back. Bob Jones is a stronghold of fundamentalism. According to the story the speaker told the young people, "You are naive. You cannot continue to take the Bible and apply literalism to it. For example," he said, "take the Old Testament. The Hebrew for `red' and `reed' is the same word. When it talks about Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in pursuit, ...

2072. What Makes You Blush?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

An ad once appeared in the personals column of a newsletter. It read like this: "Married, professional man, 47, with problems in home, seeks dalliance with a married/unmarried, intelligent woman." The ad had been written by some researchers. They were curious about who would respond to such an ad. Much to their astonishment, they were deluged by responses. For example, here's one: "I am a 34-year-old female, pretty, rubenesque, brown hair, dark blue eyes. I work as a nurse in large urban hospital. My ...

2073. Looking For Mr. Right

James 4:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A year or so ago the newspapers carried a story from India. Two brides and two grooms discovered that a rather serious mistake had been made on their wedding day. The brides had been wearing long veils. They were hardly able to see anything around them. To make matters worse, the simple wedding ceremonies had been rushed. Hence both ceremonies were over before it was discovered that both brides had been paired with the wrong grooms. A ruling by the village elders confirmed that the marriages were binding ...

2074. Noblesse Oblige

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

American Express gave us the expression, "Membership has its privileges." An earlier generation gave the world the expression, noblesse oblige, "Nobility has its obligations." Our texts for the day are concerned with the kingship of Christ. Revelation calls him "the ruler of the kings of the earth." In John's Gospel Pilate asks, "Are you the king of the Jews?" After some verbal sparring, Jesus answers, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the ...

2075. What We Are About

Acts 13:13-52

Sermon

King Duncan

The new music teacher at the Junior High school had just organized a band. The principal decided that the band should give its first concert, but the music teacher was not certain that the band was ready. Just before the concert, the music teacher whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you’re not sure of your part, just pretend to play." When the big moment arrived, she brought her baton down with a sweeping flourish and lo, nothing happened. The band gave forth with a resounding silence. Sometimes the ...

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