Sermon Central
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Jim Butcher
Contributing sermons since Jan 1, 2000
Newest Sermons
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When The Kingdom Seems Unimpressive
Contributed on Nov 19, 2025
The parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast point us to a truth that's uncomfortable at first: the Kingdom might not look that impressive the first time you look at it.
UNIMPRESSIVE: Jesus acknowledges that many will initially see the Kingdom as insignificantly small. - Luke 13:18-21. - Matthew 13:31-33; Mark 4:30-32. - I guess you could say that sometimes we hype up Jesus and His Kingdom too much. - “Who wouldn’t want this?” - “It’s so obviously true and ...read more
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What We Put In The Way Of Setting People Free
Contributed on Nov 18, 2025
Jesus came to set people free, but often we put things ahead of that. What are the specific ways we do that?
“THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE”: Jesus came to set people free from Satanic oppression. - Luke 13:10-13; John 8:32. - There was more to Jesus’ mission than this, but one of the biggest things that He did was to set people free from Satanic oppression. - This is true both in terms of exorcisms, like ...read more
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"Woe To You": Avoiding The Pharisees’ Mistakes About Faith
Contributed on Nov 4, 2025
Jesus' criticism of the religious leaders provides several insights into what genuine faith is supposed to look like.
WRONG WAY: Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ approach to faith. - Luke 11:37-38. - Jesus gets invited to dine with a Pharisee and He goes. That in itself is interesting: Jesus is engaging with those who are His most vociferous enemies. - Why did He do that? I think there are at least a couple ...read more
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Trying To Change Society By Moral Improvement
Contributed on Oct 22, 2025
This is a difficult passage but at its core it's one that posits what happens when someone tries to bring transformation without God.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE STORY? It is about moral improvement without God. - Luke 11:24-26. - Let’s begin by acknowledging that this is a difficult passage. It comes across a little obscure. It’s easy to read it and think it’s either just a weird saying or something with no application to our ...read more
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A Rebuke To Forgiveness-Only Salvation
Contributed on Sep 30, 2025
This is a challenging passage. Surely Paul doesn't mean that we have to actually live like that?! What it all points us to is a false gospel that is too often preached today - "forgiveness-only" belief. What does this passage tell us about what real salvation looks like?
A COMMON BELIEF TODAY: I am “saved” and unchanged. - Matthew 7:15-20; Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:8. - This passage makes us uncomfortable. It sounds harsh and unrealistic. We will delve into how we are to understand it as we move forward. - A good place to start is a major reason why ...read more
Newest Sermon Series
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How You Should Pray: Embracing The Lord's Prayer
Contributed on Apr 9, 2025
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Ezekiel
Contributed on Mar 11, 2024
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Re-Creation
Contributed on Jan 24, 2024
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The Greatest Gospel Explanation Ever
Contributed on Nov 7, 2023
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How To Disagree
Contributed on Sep 15, 2023
Newest Sermon Illustrations
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Before The Water
Contributed on Nov 15, 2018
Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water, shares this story: "I recently had the chance to visit charity:water's very first project. It was a well that we had funded on my thirty-first birthday and then built in the IDP camp of Bobi, Uganda. "The sprawling camp of 31,000 people had cleared out, ...read more
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It’s Only A White Collar Crime?
Contributed on Oct 16, 2018
C.S. Lewis died in 1963, but a comment in one of his writings speaks directly to the current opioid crisis. Lewis wrote: “The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its ...read more
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Rescue
Contributed on Oct 16, 2018
I am really struck by the lyrics of Lauren Daigle’s recent song “Rescue.” The singer is speaking from God’s perspective and says: “I hear the whisper underneath your breath I hear you whisper, you have nothing left I will send out an army to find you In the middle of the darkest night It’s true, ...read more
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What Khris Davis Did That No One Has Ever Done Before
Contributed on Oct 16, 2018
Khris Davis is an outfielder for the Oakland Athletics in the majors. In 2015, he batted .247 for the year. In 2016, he batted .247 for the year. In 2017, he batted .247 for the year. And during the last season, in 2018, he batted . . . , you guessed it, .247 for the year. He went 0-for-2 in ...read more
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What God Told Me At 4 A.m. In Guangzhou, China
Contributed on Apr 13, 2018
Note: this story is told by me - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. I want to tell you a story about an insight that God gave me into John 14:1-4, the passage where Jesus speaks of going to prepare a place for us. This is the story of something that happened to me several years ago while I was in ...read more