Sermon Central
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God's Final Word (Revelation)
Contributed by Pat Damiani on Jan 11, 2010 (message contributor)
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1. The Index Of Leading Spiritual Complacency Indicators
Contributed on Jan 11, 2010
Zephaniah show us that we can avoid complacency by gathering together, seeking Jesus and obeying His commands.
Each month the Conference Board computes what is known as the Index of Leading Economic Indicators. This index is computed based on economic data and is supposed to be a predictor of the future direction of our economy here in the United States. That index is used by government officials, ...read more
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2. Living By Internal Prinicple
Contributed on Jan 25, 2010
The account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reveals some truths about tribulation and demonstrates how to live by internal principle and not by external pressure.
This morning, we come to one of the most well-known accounts in the entire Bible. But our familiarity with the account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace is actually one of the biggest obstacles we face in being able to understand what this passage has for us today and how we ...read more
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3. The Character Of The Gentile Nations
Contributed on Feb 1, 2010
Daniel's vision describes the character of the Gentile nations that will rule over the Jews until the return of Jesus.
Go ahead and turn to Daniel chapter 7 in your Bibles this morning. In many ways Daniel 7 is a key passage in our study of the Old Testament prophets, not only because of the information contained in the passage itself, but because of what we can learn about the structure and patterns of Biblical ...read more
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4. How To Avoid The "Slow Fade"
Contributed on Feb 8, 2010
Daniel's response to his vision demonstrates how to avoid having our relationship with God slowly fade away.
Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Daniel 8 as we continue our journey through the Old Testament prophets. This morning, rather than read the entire passage all at once at the beginning, we’ll deal with our passage section by section. As always, the first thing that we want to do is to put ...read more
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5. Daniel's Seventy Sevens
Contributed on Feb 15, 2010
The answer to Daniel's prayer provides a timeline for Biblical prophecy concerning Israel.
There is no doubt that the Book of Daniel is an essential pre-requisite to our study of the Book of Revelation. We’ve already looked at several key passages in Daniel, particularly the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2 and the corresponding visions of Daniel in chapters 7 and 8. This ...read more
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6. Lessons From Somedry Bones
Contributed on Feb 22, 2010
Although the vision of the dry bones applies to Israel, we can learn much about God's character and how to live our lives from that object lesson.
As I read the Bible, I’m constantly amazed at how God uses some very common objects to demonstrate deep spiritual truths. It’s as if God uses a consistent dose of simple “In the Bag” object lessons in order to help us understand that which He wants us to apply in our lives. ...read more
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7. The Great Reunion
Contributed on Mar 1, 2010
The object lesson of the two sticks pictures the great reunion that will take place at the return of Jesus.
I’ve never been a big fan of reunions. Somehow the idea of getting together with a bunch of people you haven’t seen or even talked to in years so that you can all try to impress each other just isn’t something that I look forward to. And as I get older, the thought of taking part ...read more
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8. God To The Rescue
Contributed on Mar 9, 2010
The war of Gog and Magog demonstrates God's sovereignty, which is the only true source of security.
In just a few moments, we’ll be looking at Ezekiel 38, so go ahead and turn to that chapter in your Bibles. But before we look at that passage, I’d like us to pause for a moment and remind ourselves of how this passage fits into the overall scope of this current sermon series. Since we ...read more
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9. God’s Holiness And Our Worship
Contributed on Apr 16, 2010
Ezekiel's prophecy reveals that we must allow God's holiness to drive our worship.
This morning we’ll finish our look at the prophecy contained in Ezekiel 38 and 39, so go ahead and turn into your Bibles to Ezekiel 39. As I mentioned last week, these two chapters contain one prophecy – one of the most difficult in the entire Bible to understand. There are just too ...read more
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10. Our Mighty Savior
Contributed on Apr 16, 2010
Zechariah reveals God as a Mighty Savior and describes seven aspects of His salvation.
This morning we’ll embark on our final examination of the Old Testament prophets as we look at a portion of the Book of Zechariah. You’ll find that book near the end of your Old Testament right before the Book of Malachi. We’ll look at chapter 12 this morning and then spend two ...read more
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11. How To Call On The Name Of The Lord
Contributed on Apr 16, 2010
Calling on the name of the Lord requires more than just speaking the name of Jesus.
In order to attract unbelievers, a number of churches around the country have incorporated secular music into their worship services. Among their favorite tunes is the James Taylor classic “You’ve Got a Friend” which includes these lyrics: When your down and troubled And you ...read more
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12. Living A Sacred Life
Contributed on May 4, 2010
Zechariah's prophecy points out the importance of not compartmentalizing our lives into the secular and the sacred.
In a sense, this morning marks the end of a journey that we began last July in the book of Joel and which has made its way through Amos, Isaiah, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Daniel, Ezekiel and now Zechariah. Next week, we’ll pause for a moment to reflect upon what we’ve learned on ...read more
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13. Enduring To The End
Contributed on May 4, 2010
This summary of the messages from the Old Testament prophets encourages us to endure to the end (Matthew 24:13)
For the last ten months, I know a lot of you have been just like a little kid on a road trip, constantly asking, “Are we there yet?” as we make our way toward the Book of Revelation. During that period I’ve shared 30 messages that deal with the Old Testament prophecies regarding ...read more
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14. The Puzzle Of The Revelation
Contributed on May 4, 2010
A jigsaw puzzle gives us some insight about how to approach the Book of Revelation
Mary and I really like putting together jigsaw puzzles. And I’m finding that many of the things that we’ve learned during the process of assembling those puzzles are really helpful when we look at the Book of Revelation: Lessons from a jigsaw puzzle: 1. The box art is ...read more
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15. A Portrait Of Jesus Among His Churches
Contributed on May 10, 2010
The portrait of Jesus walking in the midst of His churches pictures the works that His followers are to be doing.
How many of you have ever seen a portrait of Jesus? [Pause for response]. For those of you who raised your hands, I’m assuming that you’re referring to a depiction of Jesus that might look something like this. [Show painting of Jesus]. Would you be surprised to find that in the first ...read more
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16. Responding To The Revelation Of Jesus
Contributed on May 17, 2010
John's response to his vision of Jesus pictures how we are to respond to Jesus with awe, assurance and action.
Last week we had the privilege of seeing a wonderful portrait of Jesus that reveals to us what He is doing right now – walking among His churches for the purposes of reconciling, interceding, purifying, guiding, protecting and shining. And we determined that as His followers, we are to be ...read more
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17. Love Matters
Contributed on May 24, 2010
Jesus' message to the church at Ephesus reminds us of the need to love Jesus and each other.
There were once two newlyweds on their honeymoon. They were taking a train ride cross country. The bride was becoming a little self conscious about all the fanfare of being a new married couple. She just wanted some quiet time alone with her new husband, so she came up with a plan. She said to ...read more
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18. Living While Dying
Contributed on Jun 7, 2010
By remaining faithful even in the face of tribulation, we prove the genuineness of our faith and can be assured of eternal life, even in the face of physical death.
I’d like to begin this morning by reading a portion of an article from the January 2008 issue of “Christianity Today” titled “A Victorious Family.” [Read first part of article]. We’ll come back and finish this account of Necati and Semse a little later, but ...read more
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19. Guarding Against Implosion
Contributed on Jun 7, 2010
We can prevent the implosion of the church by holding fast to the face value of the Bible text and refusing to tolerate false teaching.
[Video of Texas Stadium implosion] At 7:07 a.m. CDT on April 11, 2010, 11-year-old Casey Rogers, who won an essay contest for the job, pressed the button that began the process of demolishing Texas Stadium. Although the stadium had survived continuous onslaughts from the elements over its nearly ...read more
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20. Holding Fast To Jesus
Contributed on Jun 14, 2010
The church in Thyatira demonstrates the need to follow the ways of Jesus in order to prevent being deceived.
In our culture, I think there is sometimes a tendency for us to look around at all the mega churches, even some right around us, and to begin to think that a smaller church like TFC really isn’t all that significant to the kingdom of God. But Jesus’ message to the church in Thyatira ...read more
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21. Christians In Name Only
Contributed on Jun 28, 2010
In order to avoid being Christians in name only, we must continue to rely upon the Holy Spirit and not our own wisdom and power.
In his commentary on World Net Daily posted on April 21, 2009, David Welch wrote the following words: One of the most massive and widespread occurrences of identity theft has happened, and it is not even attracting the attention of local, state or national leaders. This particularly insidious ...read more
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22. Be Like Philadelphia
Contributed on Jun 28, 2010
We remain faithful to Jesus by holding fast to Him regardless of circumstances.
[Show video - “Be Like Mike” commercial] I guess, like many of you, I’m really dating myself when I admit that I actually remember that commercial, which made its debut in 1992. But even today, young aspiring basketball players still want to “be like Mike” because ...read more
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23. Open The Door
Contributed on Aug 23, 2010
The message to the church in Laodicea shows us that in order to get what we really need in life, we must let Jesus in to our lives.
In his book, The Second Coming of the Church, Christian researcher and pollster, George Barna, documents his findings about the differences in behaviors between those who identify themselves as born again Christians and non-Christians here in the United States. Among the results of his surveys are ...read more
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24. Being Heavenly Minded So We Can Be Of Earthly Good
Contributed on Aug 23, 2010
John’s vision of the throne in chapters 4 and 5 is the model for our worship of God.
Most of us have probably heard it said that “those who are heavenly minded are of no earthly good.” But chapter 4 of Revelation shows us that just the opposite is true. Since we heard the entire passage read out loud just a moment ago, I’m not going to read the entire chapter ...read more
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25. Reigning With The Lamb Who Reigns
Contributed on Aug 23, 2010
We can reign with the Lamb who reigns right now by obeying him, be intercessors and by sharing in His suffering.
Last week we began the process of putting on our spiritual 3D glasses by looking at John’s vision of heavenly worship that began in Revelation 4. We’ll complete that process this morning as we examine the continuation of that vision in Chapter 5. As I pointed out last week, the vision ...read more
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26. What Happens When God's People Pray
Contributed on Sep 13, 2010
When we pray for Jesus’ kingdom to come, it results in serious consequences that we must respond to with faith.
For those of you who have had the privilege to join us on Thursday nights, you’ve been exposed to the power of prayer and hopefully been encouraged to develop a deeper prayer life both personally and corporately. But perhaps nowhere else in the Scriptures do we see the power of prayer ...read more
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27. Hope In The Midst Of Chaos
Contributed on Sep 13, 2010
We can have hope in the midst of chaos because God knows us, protects us and equips us.
In the midst of an economic recession, moral decay and the threat of terrorism both at home and abroad, it’s not surprising that Americans are increasingly losing hope about the future. A December 2009 CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 69% of Americans were hopeful about their future and ...read more
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28. A Great Multitude
Contributed on Sep 13, 2010
The great multitude before the throne reveals that our worship of God requires us to serve Him continually.
On September 20, 2009, 105,121 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a regular season NFL game, watched in dismay as the home team Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Giants 33-31. But as big as that crows was, it pales in comparison with some other large crowds throughout history: • On ...read more
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29. The Power Of Prayer
Contributed on Sep 20, 2010
We co-labor and co-reign with God in the coming of His kingdom through prayer.
[Read this first verse and then just sit down and have 1 minute of silence]. 1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. SILENCE IN HEAVEN Right now, all of us just experienced one minute of silence. And my guess is that we were all at ...read more
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30. Before It's Too Late
Contributed on Oct 1, 2010
The fifth and sixth trumpets should cause us to be grateful to God for our salvation and to develop a sense of urgency about sharing our faith with others.
Two local pastors were fishing on the side of the road. They made a sign saying, "The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car. One driver who drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them, "Leave us alone, you religious ...read more