Sermon Central
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The Life Of Jesus - Sermon On The Mount
Contributed by Pat Damiani on Sep 1, 2011 (message contributor)
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1. Is Jesus Enough?
Contributed on Sep 1, 2011
In order to inherit the blessings of the kingdom of heaven we must humble ourselves and admit our spiritual poverty.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Most of us have heard these words from the Declaration of Independence since we ...read more
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2. No Man Is An Island
Contributed on Sep 13, 2011
Jesus’ metaphors of salt and light reveal how His followers are to be positive influences in the world.
You’ve probably all heard the old adage “No man is an island.” Since that was the thought that first came to mind as I read the passage that we’ll look at this morning, this week I did some research to find out where that saying originated. It comes from Meditation XVII ...read more
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3. Why God’s Word Matters
Contributed on Sep 13, 2011
Because God’s Word mattered to Jesus, it should matter to us and we should do everything we can to live according to the principles we find there.
Over the years, I’ve found that one of the issues that Christ followers struggle with the most is how we are to apply the Old Testament in our lives. In fact, five years ago when I preached a series of messages based on questions submitted to me by all of you, that was the most common question that ...read more
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4. The Trouble Lies Deeper
Contributed on Sep 27, 2011
We give glory to God by living a life that is consistent with the heart of the law and not just the letter of the law.
The great preacher of many years ago, Henry Ward Beecher, had a clock in this church that didn't keep good time. It was always too fast or too slow. And he fiddled with it month after month after month trying to get it right and it became kind of a standard topic of conversation in the church. ...read more
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5. Praying With The Right Heart
Contributed on Sep 27, 2011
The Sermon on the Mount reveals that prayer is more about the heart than the words.
This week I read about two churches who had decided to hold a joint worship service. As part of that service they were going to recite the “Lord’s Prayer”. But when it came to the fourth petition in the prayer, they couldn’t agree whether to say “forgive us our debts ...read more
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6. Hungering For Jesus
Contributed on Oct 4, 2011
The purpose of Biblical fasting is to satisfy our hunger for God.
This morning we’re going to address a topic that frankly doesn’t get as much attention in the church as it does in the outside world around us. Fasting has actually become quite popular in our culture, primarily for physical reasons like weight loss and health. In fact, this week I went ...read more
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7. Asking, Seeking And Knocking God’s Way
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
Genuine prayer focuses on those things that are on God’s heart, not on our personal needs and desires.
[“O Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz” video] The way that we pray says a lot about what we think about God. Unfortunately, Janis Joplin, and a lot of other people for that matter, view God as someone who exists to do their bidding and give them what they want – kind ...read more
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8. Building A Foundation For Kingdom Stewardship
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
The proper foundation for Kingdom Stewardship requires that we view God as the owner of all who has entrusted those things to us as His stewards.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that I’ve skipped over some passages as we’ve made our way through the Sermon on the Mount. As I mentioned at the time, I wanted to come back and deal with all those passages together since they all deal with our stewardship in ...read more
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9. Investing In The Kingdom
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
We invest in the kingdom of heaven by investing in the lives of people.
In the movie, “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” Captain Jack Sparrow has a compass. It is no ordinary compass. Rather than pointing north, it points toward whatever the person holding it wants most. It might be treasure, or a person, or a location. But it only works if the person holding ...read more
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10. Culitvating Contentment In The Kingdom
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
Jesus’ followers overcome worry by focusing on God’s faithfulness and cultivating a life of contentment.
In his book, Jesus’ Spiritual Journey and Ours, Thomas Kepler records the account of a lady who realized that her worrying was running and ruining her life. So she made for herself a "worry table" in which she tabulated all her anxieties. After a period of time, she discovered that her ...read more
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11. Giving In The Kingdom
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
Giving in the kingdom of God is an act of worship that demonstrates how much we value God and His kingdom.
Two men were marooned on an Island. One man paced back and forth worried and scared while the other man sat back and was sunning himself. The first man said to the second man, "aren’t you afraid we are about to die." "No," said the second man, "I make $100,000 a week and tithe faithfully to ...read more
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12. Making My Stewardship Practical
Contributed on Nov 18, 2011
Being good stewards in the kingdom of heaven requires implementing some practices that promote our stewardship.
This morning we’re going to wrap up our five week series on stewardship in the kingdom of heaven. We began five weeks ago by establishing four foundational principles. Since these are so important, let’s review them one more time: Foundational principle #1: • God owns ...read more
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13. The "Golden Rule"
Contributed on Nov 29, 2011
The "Golden Rule" summarizes Jesus' teaching on how citizens of the kingdom of heaven are to live.
Nearly every adherent of every religion throughout history as well as those who claim to have no religion at all, hold to some form of what has come to be known as the “Golden Rule.” But as we’ll see this morning, the words of Jesus which form the basis for that belief are ...read more
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14. Narrow Minded Christ Followers
Contributed on Jan 30, 2012
Being a genuine Christ follower requires more than just our words or actions – it requires a heart to know Jesus.
When I first began to prepare the message this week, I had a nice attention catching illustration that I was going to use to open the sermon. But the more that I worked on the message this week, the more I became convinced that this is such an important message that I don’t want to waste even ...read more
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15. Spiritual Fruit Inspectors
Contributed on Jan 30, 2012
We are to discern false teaching within the church by examining the fruit produced by our teachers.
I know that several of you have recently driven to California. I was wondering if they still have the Agricultural Inspection Stations when you cross the border into California. I know they still had them when Mary and I vacationed there a couple of years ago. Those inspectors are tasked with ...read more
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16. Weathering The Storms Of Life
Contributed on Jan 30, 2012
We prepare to weather the storms of life by applying the words of Jesus in our everyday lives.
In 1174 the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project - a bell tower for the Cathedral of the city of Pisa. But after construction had progressed to the second floor several years later, the tower began to sink and tilt due to the fact that the ...read more