Sermon Central
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2 Corinthians
Contributed by C. Philip Green on Nov 8, 2024 (message contributor)
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1. The God Of All Comfort
Contributed on Nov 8, 2024
To find healing for your heart, praise God who comforts you in affliction, and trust God who delivers you from affliction.
There is an old story floating around about a soldier who was wounded in a battle. His commanding officer ordered him to go to the nearest military hospital. When he arrived at the entrance, he saw two doors: one marked “For Minor Wounds,” the other “For Serious Wounds.” He entered the first door ...read more
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2. Cleaning Up The Mess Of Misunderstanding
Contributed on Nov 20, 2024
To clean up the mess of misunderstanding, act with integrity and love, affirming God’s integrity and love in everything you do.
Evelyn Shetter from Abilene, Kansas, accepted a lunch invitation with former coworkers. Since she was going to be gone over the lunch hour, she set the table and left dinner in the oven for Larry, her farmer husband. She scribbled him a note saying, “Dinner in oven.” When she returned home at 4 ...read more
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3. The Tools Of Restoration
Contributed on Dec 4, 2024
To restore a sinning believer, grab the tools of restoration: pain; punishment; pardon; and partnership.
The Tools of Restoration (2 Corinthians 2:5-11) Author and Canadian Theologian, Randall Rauser, tells the story of a boy, whose parents had promised him a beautiful car to drive when he turned 16. He dreamed about it all his life, planning to park it in the family’s barn where it could stay warm ...read more
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4. Smell Good
Contributed on Dec 13, 2024
When you feel defeated, trust Christ to use your feeble efforts and faltering speech to make an eternal difference in people’s lives.
A marathon, for most runners, seems long, but it is always 26.2 miles. Always. Except for the Lakeshore Marathon held in Chicago on Memorial Day weekend 20 years ago (2005). That day the 529 runners who finished actually ran 27.2 miles, one mile more than they were supposed to. Only, nobody told ...read more
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5. Staring Down Your Critics
Contributed on Dec 19, 2024
Behold the glory of the Lord and be bold in your service for the Lord.
There is an old Peanuts cartoon, in which Linus has just written a comic strip of his own, and he wants Lucy's opinion. In the first frame, he tentatively hands Lucy his comic strip and says, “Lucy, would you read this and tell me if you think it is funny?” In the next frame, you see Lucy ...read more
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6. Preventing Heart Loss
Contributed on Dec 27, 2024
To prevent heart loss, declare Christ and demonstrate Christ as you depend on Him.
Mrs. Shank from Olathe, Kansas, talks about a hot summer day when she was sitting near an open window sewing and keeping an eye on her three grandsons playing outside. “Let's play cops and robbers,” said Mike. “I'll be a robber!” Terry and Melvin wanted the same role, so they needed ...read more
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7. Groaning For Glory
Contributed on Jan 3, 2025
If you want the confidence to move forward in times of trouble, see the unseen. Specifically, see your future body, your future home, and your future reward as you live your life to please the Lord.
Note: put a $20-bill up your sleeve for later use. In The Polar Express, a boy, who has his doubts, boards a magical train on Christmas Eve, which is headed for the North Pole. As the train ascends a particularly steep hill, the boy, a girl, and the conductor are climbing from the top of the ...read more
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8. Selling Salt
Contributed on Jan 8, 2025
To serve the Lord effectively, convince others powerfully, consider others according to their potential and characterize Christ properly.
In his book Led by the Carpenter, D. James Kennedy writes: A man walked into a little mom-and-pop grocery store and asked, “Do you sell salt?” “Ha!” said Pop the proprietor. “Do we sell salt! Just look!” And Pop showed the customer one entire wall of shelves stocked with nothing but salt: Morton ...read more
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9. Establishing Credibility
Contributed on Jan 17, 2025
To establish your credibility, fervently DECLARE and faithfully DEMONSTRATE the good news of God’s grace.
Several years ago (1993), FBI agents conducted a raid of Southwood psychiatric hospital in San Diego, which was under investigation for medical insurance fraud. After hours of reviewing medical records, the agents had worked up an appetite. The agent in charge of the investigation called a nearby ...read more
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10. A Lying Life
Contributed on Jan 24, 2025
Separate yourself from false teachers, because as believers in Christ, you are righteous before God, you are the residence of God, and you have a special relationship with God. So out of reverence for God, let the truth set you free to complete your progress towards holiness.
A man had a fine canary whose song was unusually beautiful. During the summer, it seemed a shame to keep the bird inside the house all the time. So the owner placed the cage in a nearby tree for the bird to enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air. Many sparrows frequented the tree and were attracted ...read more
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11. Overflowing With Joy
Contributed on Jan 30, 2025
If you want to bring overflowing joy to those who serve you, refresh them, reconcile yourself to them, repent, and remain true to them.
Donn Moomaw, a football player who became a pastor, was preaching at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. After the service, a lady came up to him and said, “Oh, Reverend Moomaw, I just have to tell you that every sermon you preach is better than your next.” He thanked her, but when he ...read more
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12. The Grace Of Giving
Contributed on Feb 13, 2025
By God’s grace, give generously, give eagerly, and give responsibly.
June Spivey in Christian Reader writes about how the elementary school in her town collects lunch money from the new kindergartners at the beginning of each year. This solves the problem of lost money during the year, but for nervous 5-year-olds, it can take a few days to understand the ...read more
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13. The Joy Of Giving
Contributed on Feb 19, 2025
Give promptly and freely, because God gave freely to you.
On the day after Christmas, some time ago, Mr. Greene parked his car to pick up the morning paper. He noticed a dirty, poorly dressed boy, staring at his car. Seeing the boy eyeing his car, Mr. Greene reminded himself to be quick or he might be missing a hubcap or two when he returned. He came out ...read more
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14. Fighting Your Bullies
Contributed on Feb 28, 2025
Fight the bullies in your life with God’s ability, with God’s authority, and within God’s assignment.
In his book Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey tells the story of a bully who demanded his lunch money every day when he was a child. Because Handey was smaller than the bully, he simply gave the bully his money. “Then I decided to fight back,” Handey says. “I started taking karate lessons, but the ...read more
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15. Divine Jealousy
Contributed on Mar 6, 2025
If you want to keep from being deceived, follow only a leader, who, like a father, jealously guards your pure devotion to Christ, generously cares for you, and genuinely shows you his true self.
Pastor John Ortberg asks us to imagine picking your car up from the shop after a routine tune-up, and the technician says, “This car is in great shape. Clearly you have an automotive genius to take great care of your car.” Later that day, your brakes fail. You find out you were out of brake fluid. ...read more
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16. Foolish Boasting
Contributed on Mar 13, 2025
If you’re going to boast, boast about your service, suffering, and shame.
When women get together, one might say, “I was hit by a car today," and all the other women will say, “You're kidding! What happened? Where? Are you all right?” When men get together, their conversation is very different. One might say, “I was hit by a car today," and I guarantee ...read more
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17. Strength In Weakness
Contributed on Mar 20, 2025
When you feel disrespect, boast about the way God has honored you, humbled you, and helped you in your weakness.
In 1969, in a science lab in New Jersey, Canadian physicist Willard Boyle and his colleagues invented the concept of an electronic eye. Using their knowledge of mathematics and the behavior of light they provided the science behind digital cameras known as a charged-coupled device or CCD. The CCD ...read more