Sermon Central
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Temptations People Face
Contributed by Chris Appleby on Oct 18, 2000 (message contributor)
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1. The Temptation To Be Perfect
Contributed on Oct 18, 2000
To be perfect as God is perfect, paradoxically, requires us to understand our own weaknesses and failures the way God does, and to love ourselves, despite those weaknesses and failures, the way God does.
It may sound like a contradiction in terms to have a sermon on the temptation to be perfect. After all aren’t temptations about being imperfect. Doesn’t God want us to be perfect just as he’s perfect? But you know, there is such a thing as the temptation to be perfect. All of us are subject to it ...read more
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2. The Temptation To Wield Power
Contributed on Oct 18, 2000
There are two types of power in the world - secular power wielded to serve the individual and God’s kingdom power - given to serve others.
Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem and when the moment is right, James & John take Jesus aside and ask him to grant them a favour. It’s a simple enough request. They want to sit on his right and left hand sides in glory. They’ve understood what he’s just told them about his ...read more
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3. Trusting Externals To Make Us Feel Good
Contributed on Oct 18, 2000
Where do we get our sense of value from - externals or God’s love for us?
My wife, Di, and I were sitting in the family room watching TV with our daughter, Janet, the other night when suddenly, Janet noticed the new watch Di had got for Christmas. She said with a mixture of awe and new-found respect, "Mum, you’ve got a Fossil watch. That’s so cool!" Well, we’d bought it ...read more
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4. The Lure Of Money
Contributed on Aug 13, 2001
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. How can we fight the temptation to misuse money?
I discovered some fascinating statistics the other day. Did you know that out of 38 parables that Jesus told, 16 deal with money in some form or other? If you add up all the times that heaven and hell are mentioned, it comes to fewer times than money is mentioned. The New Testament says 5 times as ...read more
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5. The Temptation To Misuse Sexuality
Contributed on Aug 20, 2001
There are a number of distortions about sexuality that affect how we behave. What does the Bible teach us about our sexuality.
Last week we talked about the lure of money and we saw how money is such a great temptation for us because of the way the love of money is promoted by our culture. Well, if that’s the case, then perhaps even more so is the temptation to misuse our sexuality. Sex is power in today’s world. Sex is ...read more
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6. The Danger Of Anger
Contributed on Sep 11, 2001
Danger in itself is not wrong. But there are temnptations we face to deal with our anger unhelpfully.
I want to talk today about the danger of anger; or more accurately about the temptation to let our anger consume us. Now let’s face it, every one of us will experience anger from time to time, some more than others. Some of us are probably more prone to anger due to our emotional makeup, but all of ...read more