Sermon Central
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Confronting Culture
Contributed by Tim Smith on Jun 16, 2013 (message contributor)
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1. Control
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
Control. We bristled under the thought that someone else might be controlling us. And we revel in the thought that we can control our lives. In fact, many of us, if we’re honest, are control freaks.
Control Philippians 2:7-8; Romans 12:1 Dave Navarro has written an article entitled, “The 5 People Who Secretly Control Your Life.” In it, he says, what you may not realize is just how many people influence your life, feeding you ideas about what is “right,” ...read more
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2. Self Help
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
The journey of faith is a call to change your habits to those of God.The reality is that people need help in living a healthy and Godly manner. One answer has been the self help books which can be found in their own section at any bookstor
Self Help Ephesians 4:22-24 Have you ever had difficulty trying to change a habit? Human beings are creatures of habit. The 19th century psychologist William James observed, "All our life ... is but a mass of habits." We develop habits and tend to continue acting as we have acted in the past. ...read more
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3. Individualism
Contributed on Jun 17, 2013
We have become captive to the idea that faith is a private matter. We have bought into society’s value of individualism. Individualism is leading life one’s own way with little to no regard or connection to others. But is that what God wants for us?
Individualism Joshua 7: 2-12a Imagine somebody courteously asking, “How is your family life?” or “How is your prayer life?” or “Is your thought life pure?” or “How wisely do you use your time?” or as John Wesley would ask Methodists in his day, ...read more
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4. Selfishness
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
It is so easy to judge and condemn the perceived selfishness of others. But rarely do we turn that discerning eye and critical judgment toward ourselves leaving our personal selfishness virtually unchallenged.
Selfishness Philippians 2:3-4 If you look around, you see endless examples of selfishness. We often lament their existence: We lash out at the pork spending of politicians for their constituents. We despise the self-serving culture of corporate greed. We protest the selfish motives of many wars ...read more
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5. Success
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
How do you define success? Different people define success in various ways. While one’s achievements along the five p’s may be celebrated in their lifetime, rarely do they lasts past them. What we need to evaluate is true success that
Success and Happiness 1 Kings 2:3, Joshua 1:1-9 How do you define success? Different people define success in various ways. Success to some is the accumulation of goods. To another, success may be academic achievement and post graduate degrees. And yet to another, success may be financial ...read more
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6. What's In A Worldview?
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
What’s your worldview? Everyone has one. Whether or not we realize it, we all have certain presuppositions and beliefs that affect the way we view all of life and reality
What’s in a Worldview? Romans 12:2 I was watching the NBC national news over the holidays with my father in law. He is a very conservative Republican and loves Rush Limbaugh. Nothing wrong with that. But all he watches is right wing Republican news programs which paint a very jaded picture ...read more
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7. Debt
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
Excessive personal debt is taking a huge toll. The Bible neither expressly forbids nor condones the borrowing of money. Instead it teaches that it is usually not a good idea to go into debt. Debt takes away our freedom and makes us a slave to our debt
Debt Sermon Proverbs 22:7 As the calendar turned to the New Year, the talk of the country was the “Fiscal Cliff.” That started the conversation about our country’s national debt. As of this week, our national debt as a country is $16,822,348,570,124.50. The country’s ...read more
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8. Entitlement
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
Entitlement is when people feel that the world owes them something without having to do anything to earn it. We llok at entitlement in our culture and then see what Scripture has to say about it
Entitlement James 4:1-3 and 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 In his commencement speech to the Wellesley High School Class of 2012, English teacher David McCullough delivered some sobering words: “None of you is special. You are not special. You are not exceptional.” He called the graduating ...read more
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9. Materialism
Contributed on Jun 16, 2013
When it comes to materialism, has any nation ever surpassed what we are seeing in the United States right now? We define our lives by how much stuff we have, social status by how much money we make, what we own and wear and where we live.
Materialism James 4:1-10 When it comes to materialism, has any nation ever surpassed what we are seeing in the United States right now? We define our lives by how much stuff we have, social status by how much money we make, what we own and wear and where we live. Even most of the important dates ...read more