Sermon Central
-
Matthew 13 Parables
Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 28, 2011 (message contributor)
-
1. Matthew 13:20-21 – Part 5 – Swimming At The Shallow End Of The Pool?
Contributed on Jan 28, 2011
No matter how hardhitting and inspiring and deep the message is on Sunday, many stay at the shallow end and won’t continue with the faith that they profess.
Matthew 13:20-21 – Part 5 – SWIMMING AT THE SHALLOW END OF THE POOL? He stays at the shallow end of the pool for a long time, refusing invitations to come out into the deeper water, even with his dad. But after a long time considering it, my grandson Zion Brave Bennett thrusts ...read more
-
2. Matthew 13:18-23 – A Jackhammer And A Concrete Heart! – Part 4
Contributed on Jan 28, 2011
He allowed the cancer to be a like a PNEUMATIC JACKHAMMER. Yes, it shook him up but it also broke up the hard places of his heart and enabled God to get through to him. Everyone of us has that choice.
Matthew 13:18-23 – A JACKHAMMER AND A CONCRETE HEART! – Part 4 Two of the men have impacted my life. Both of them died of cancer. For many years one of these men allowed his CIRCUMSTANCES to harden him towards those in his family and towards God. I thought my dad was about as far ...read more
-
3. Matthew 13:1-23 – Part 6 - Dungeons And Mansions?
Contributed on Jan 28, 2011
Whether I live in a DUNGEON or MILLION DOLLAR mansion I can still be stupid about what really matters in life.
Matthew 13:1-23 – Part 6 - DUNGEONS AND MANSIONS? She is not deaf but her heart is a fortress, cold, hard, defensive. The gates are huge, old and impenetrable, bolted with fear and pride that slide across into their iron brackets at the mention of Christ. She sits in a dungeon of her own ...read more
-
4. Matthew 13:1-23 – Part 7 - A Return On The Investment
Contributed on Feb 4, 2011
In the midst of this devastation a harvest of another kind is ripening and producing an incredible return.
Matthew 13:1-23 – Part 7 - A RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT Vehicles being thrown around like toys in the rushing waters and heartbreaking stories of lives lost have filled the news reports. The damage to bumper harvests was also devastating, probably in the billions of dollars, as the states of ...read more
-
5. Matthew 13:24 – I Don’t Want To Live Like This Anymore! - Part 8
Contributed on Feb 7, 2011
Mubarak has survived six assassination attempts, but his dictatorship has brought the wrath of Egypts masses against him. They are shouting “We don’t want to live like this, anymore!” What about me? Who rules my life?
Matthew 13:24 – Part 8 - I DON’T WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE! He has ruled Egypt for 29 years and has no intention of resigning. Mubarak and his family are incredibly rich. Apparently they have $70 billion due to corruption, kickbacks and some legitimate business activities. His kingdom is ...read more
-
6. Matthew 13:24-26 - Toxic Or Transformed? – Part 9
Contributed on Feb 13, 2011
It is called “Bastard wheat” because in its early stages it cannot be distinguished from real wheat. “When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew” (Matthew 13:26 NLT). I’m sure Jesus was looking at the Pharisees when He told this pa
Matthew 13:24-26 - Part 9 – TOXIC OR TRANSFORMED? He didn’t look much like a missionary to me. He was built like a tank in terms of muscles. Not the way I pictured a missionary should be. He should have been skinny from lack of support from his home church, with an old brown ...read more
-
7. Matthew 13:24-30 - Smoking Weed - Part 10
Contributed on Feb 18, 2011
Why doesn't God force everyone to believe and to honour one another and Him? Way back in the Garden of Eden why didn't God snuff out Adam and Eve the moment they sinned and start again? Why doesn't He pull out the weeds and burn them?
Matthew 13:24-30 - SMOKING WEED - Part 10 The world is amazed as a corrupt president is removed from power in Egypt. The people who protested on the streets of Cairo are hailed as heros. In the midst of their jubilation we hear of a reporter being raped and beaten as she seeks to cover the ...read more
-
8. Matthew 13:36-43 - Hell, God’s Waste Management Centre - Part 11
Contributed on Mar 1, 2011
It is a sickly, acrid, repulsive stench that makes you curl your face into an involuntary grimace and hold your nose. In the Valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem, refuse is burned continually day and night. Jesus uses it as a picture of Hell.
Matthew 13:36-43 - HELL, GOD’S WASTE MANAGEMENT CENTRE - Part 11 I watch as hell is washed inland with the momentum of an earthquake behind it, a wave of burning cars, buildings and debri. And in its wake the devastation of thousands lost. Earthquake, tsunami, nuclear explosion. In the ...read more
-
9. Matthew 13:36-43 - Will I See My Mum In Heaven? - Part 12
Contributed on Mar 7, 2011
And all of us are left with unvoiced questions about eternity, questions we don't really want to think about but which linger in the shadows of the mind. WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY DIE?
Darkness, Death, Aftershocks, Stroke, Jesus, Heaven, Saved, Hell, Christchurch, Funeral, Mum, Eternity, Light, Earthquake, Trusting in Christ, Matthew 13, New Zealand | report Matthew 13:36-43 - WILL I SEE MY MUM IN HEAVEN? - Part 12 I watched the news in the last few weeks as a nation reels ...read more
-
10. Matthew 13:31-32 - Small Seed, Incredible Potential - Part 13
Contributed on Mar 12, 2011
It was no ordinary seed. It was a seed of destiny, a seed of promise, a seed of kingdom significance, the seed of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
Matthew 13:31-32 - SMALL SEED, INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL - Part 13. When I read the Parable of the Mustard seed I am left with some serious questions. Jesus just tells the story in two sentences and leaves it at that. No explanation. He just says "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted ...read more
-
11. Matthew 13:33 - The Incredible Hulk And Yeast - Part 14
Contributed on Mar 21, 2011
Many seem to have a problem with this parable? The trouble is that whenever yeast is used figuratively in the Bible it is usually speaking about "the bad guys" and the influence of sin, hyprocrisy, or their false teaching, (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Galatians
Matthew 13:33 – THE INCREDIBLE HULK AND YEAST - Part 14 I’m thinking THE INCREDIBLE HULK! When Bruce Banner gets mad, he is transformed into a huge, out of control creature (I can’t help it. I have a grandson who loves cartoon characters and he always wants me to play the bad guy or the ...read more
-
12. Matthew 13:44 – 240 Pieces Of Eight … Priceless! - Part 16
Contributed on Apr 9, 2011
It has taken me a year but the treasure hunt has actually paid off! Worth the wait! Two hundred and forty Pieces of Eight! I am officially rich!
Matthew 13:44 – 240 PIECES OF EIGHT … PRICELESS! – Part 16 It has taken me a year but the treasure hunt has actually paid off! Worth the wait! Two hundred and forty Pieces of Eight! I am officially rich! Finding the Spanish galleon called the Santa Margarita was heralded as one of the ...read more
-
13. Matthew 13:45-46 – You Are So Worth It! – Part 17
Contributed on Apr 15, 2011
Simple parable. Or is it? I find myself wanting to ask Jesus some questions like “Who or What is the PEARL OF GREAT VALUE?” Are WE the pearl of great price and is it Christ who gives up everything to purchase us?
Matthew 13:45-46 – YOU ARE SO WORTH IT! – Part 17 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” Simple parable. Or is it? I find myself wanting ...read more
-
14. Matthew 13:47-50 – Political Correctness And Hell - Part 18
Contributed on Apr 23, 2011
It is cast over men and women, married and single, young and old, hearing and deaf, sighted and blind, speaking and mute (For those who want to be POLITICALLY CORRECT that's matrimonially, chronologically, aurally, visually and vocally challenged)...
Matthew 13:47-50 – POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND HELL - Part 18 My starsign is Pisces (the FISH). I don't read the stars so relax, but it has always interested me that the sign of the fish was used by early Christians as a secret symbol. During times of persecution, if a Christian met a ...read more
-
15. Matthew 13:51 - Understand?! - Part 19
Contributed on May 4, 2011
Is it "WHAT you know or WHO you know"? Or is it that "what you know helps you know He who knows you better than you know yourself". UNDERSTANDING = PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER ABOUT CHRIST.
Matthew 13:51 - UNDERSTAND?! - Part 19 Why is He asking me this question? Yes, I understand! Well, not everything but I get most of what He is trying to tell me! Actually I miss quite a lot of what He is saying. OK, OK. I admit it. At times I so don't get it. My teacher in primary school ...read more
-
16. Matthew 13:51-52 - How To Be A Homeowner With A Nest Egg - Part 20
Contributed on May 5, 2011
I have inherited a mansion, and wealth beyond belief, a storehouse full of every resource I could ever need. (Spiders too apparently) ...
Matthew 13:51-52 - HOW TO BE A HOMEOWNER WITH A NEST EGG - Part 20 A shed full of every resource I could ever need, wealth beyond belief, an incredible mansion. I have inherited the lot according to Matthew 13:51-52, spiders too apparently. In the middle of writing this, a spider has come down ...read more
-
17. Matthew 13:53-58 - How To Miss The Point Entirely About Jesus - Part 21
Contributed on May 18, 2011
The Kingdom of God, the authority of Jesus, the answers for life are abandoned because of unbelief. UNBELIEF pushes Jesus away and refuses God's wisdom and power. Unbelief builds a levy bank that redirects the flood of God's blessings elsewhere and then c
Matthew 13:53-58 - HOW TO MISS THE POINT ENTIRELY ABOUT JESUS - Part 21 "Put it on the shelf for a while. You can always revisit it later with fresh eyes." At least that's what I tell myself when I get stuck with a writing project. Unfortunately it takes a while for me to revisit it. Well, not ...read more
-
18. Matthew 13:53-58 - The Power Of Stupidity - Part 22
Contributed on May 20, 2011
Faith has great power. It has the power to bring to bear the Kingdom of Heaven upon the earth as I believe and receive eternal life. But UNBELIEF ALSO HAS THE POWER TO RELEASE THE POWER OF STUPIDITY. Psalms 53:1 (NLT) says "Only fools say in their hearts,
Matthew 13:53-58 - THE POWER OF STUPIDITY - Part 22 It’s the end of the world! Despite Acts 1:7 (NASB) where Jesus makes it clear that "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority", recently some Christians predicted the world would end on May 21, ...read more