Sermons on Adding Value:

Don't Put Your Investments In Bags With Holes

Contributed by Jack Perkins, D.min., Ladc, Csac, Cclc on Feb 17, 2021

Haggai's messages led to the restoration of the Temple. He challenged the people by using three themes : Encouragement, Warning, and Hope. This message raises critical questions for Christians and churches as we seek God's will, especially while witnessing a changing landscape.

God often uses a single voice to stir the hearts of his people. These prophetic voices often come at crucial points in history. Here are some examples. • The Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s inspiring oratory is believed to have helped save Britain in WWII. • On November 2, 1863, several ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 2:6-7, Matthew 19:21, Haggai 1:1-11

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Blessing Of Tithing

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Feb 22, 2021

It is easy to take the credit for our success. But if we understand where all blessing comes from, we start to realize that this is something that God has granted. Then we rejoice as we give, and we are glad to show him our gratitude.

They say that it’s bad manners to bring up certain topics in public. One of these sensitive issues is money. We could talk about finances in a general way—interest rates, property taxes, the markets—but when it comes to personal finance, it’s a different story. It’s not polite to talk about how ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-19, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Easter Potential Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 5, 2021

Easter is the day God made it clear to man that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to find the fountain of life. He, and He alone, has the power to make life immortal.

One of the reasons that Ferdinand and Isabella supported Columbus in his scheme to find a new world was their hope that he would also find the fountain of life. When Columbus landed he searched for it, and he questioned the Indians about the legendary fountain that would make old men young again. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:33-53

The Debt Dissolving Desire Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 8, 2021

It is something of a paradox to say Jesus paid it all, and yet see here that He demands that we remain conscious of our debt to God, and that we pray continuously for forgiveness.

About one hundred and sixty five years ago, in Jan. of 1835, the United States of America became the only major nation in modern history to do a certain thing. It was a thing she would love to be able to do again, for she paid off her national debt. It was done by the sale of public lands in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:7-15

God's Aquarium Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 9, 2021

The Bible teaches here that God made whales for the fun of it. He made them just to play in the ocean. The idea of having a gold fish, or some other pet, just to watch them play and have fun in their environment is not mans idea. It was God's idea in creation.

Off the coast of the Italian Riviera a large bronze statue of Christ has been installed down in the depths of the sea as a symbol that Christ is Lord of the deep. Jesus is the only man in history who demonstrated He was also God by controlling this great force in creation-the sea. The disciples ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 104:24-35

The Wings Of The Wind Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 9, 2021

Shakespeare was right when he said, "Ill blows the wind that profits nobody." Every wind can profit the Christian if they will, like the Psalmist, look for and see God riding on the wings of the wind.

When Columbus and his crew were being blown West by the Atlantic trade winds, one of the reasons they were so fearful was they did not know how they could get back home against the wind. Fortunately they discovered not only a new world, but new winds that carried them back to Spain. They returned ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 104:1-12

God Is Love Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 9, 2021

The implications of these three words are so vast that one message on them is like trying to harvest a million acres of corn with a comb. There is no way to get all of the infinite riches they contain, but we will at least get a taste of what this love is

Tolstoy wrote a story called "Where Love Is, God Is." It is about an old cobbler named Martin who lived alone. One night as he read the story of Jesus visiting the Pharisee, and the poor welcome he received, he prayed that the Lord would visit him. In his sleep he heard a voice saying, ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12

Helpful And Harmful Hypocrisy

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 13, 2021

Man is the most clever creature when it comes to figuring out how to get his own way. Hypocrisy, or pretending something that isn't so, is one of his best methods.

Every able bodied man in Russia must serve in the army, but Abe managed to remain quietly on his farm year after year. One day his neighbor asked him, "Abe, how does a strong young man like you manage to get by without being drafted for the Red Army?" "That is what I am asking ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6

One Priest, One Sacrifice, Once For All Series

Contributed by James Wallace on Mar 14, 2021

Do we really need multiple mortal human priest to grant us access to God? What about those churches that claim we do? Hebrews 7:18-28 provides us with a definitive answer.

Have any of you gotten any unwanted phone calls this week? Yes, I assume all of you have! Have any of you gotten any scam calls this week? Yes, those things have become as daily an experience as most any other part of our lives. Have you gotten the one from someone who sounds like they’re ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 7:18-28, 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Denomination: Bible Church

God Pursues His Beloved

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

God wants to be known personally, intimately, and vitally. He wants us to look to him with deep affection, and to depend on him always, because we know him. So foster that true commitment to God: listening to him, speaking with him, and walking with him.

Say you’ve met that “special someone.” It’s one you’ve come to love, it’s the one you want to marry. Probably we all can picture this very human event: meeting someone, falling in love, becoming husband and wife. There’s a lot of joy in this great gift! But then something takes place that nobody ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 2:2-23, Ephesians 5:22-33, Hosea 2:14-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Stubborn Missionary

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

More than Jonah could ever understand, Jesus reveals the greatness of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is for sinners. His mercy is for Jews, it’s for Gentiles, it’s for people of ever nation, for all who seek him.

What does someone do when they’ve been rescued from great danger—pulled from a burning house, or saved from drowning? Or how does a person act after his life’s been spared: when he should’ve been killed, but someone had mercy? A natural response is the desire to tell people about it. Because what’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-42

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Body Love Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 17, 2021

This body we dwell in is the first part of man that God made. Man was a body before he was anything else. As Paul says in verse 46, the natural comes first than the spiritual.

I don't care how widely traveled you are, I know you have never sailed among the Island of Langerhans, or drifted lazily down the Aqueduct of Sylvius. Nor have any of you ever strolled along the banks of Hunter's Canal, or watched the sun go down behind McBurney's Point. None of you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:35-49

The Paradox Of Pleasure Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 21, 2021

The paradox of pleasure is that the pursuit of pleasure can lead you to the pit of hell, or to the pinnacle of heaven. It is life's most dangerous or delightful path to travel.

Alexander Selkirk was one of those men who always had to learn the hard way. The records of his church in Scotland show that he was disciplined several times for causing trouble in the church. In May of 1703 he said good-bye to all that, and at age 27 went off to sea. He tried to run things on ...read more

Scripture: Esther 2:1-4

Differences Make A Difference Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 22, 2021

We do not have to like everything about Paul, for he didn't like everything about himself, but we do have to recognize that differences are not defects. They are the key to the churches having the diversity necessary to reach a very diverse world.

Sometimes a man can be so different that nobody can agree with him all the time. Such was the case with Roger Williams, who was the founder of the first Baptist Church in America. He came to America for religious freedom, and he expected to have more of it than anybody was willing to give him. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 23:1-11

The Missing Ingredient Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 25, 2021

The Biblical ideal of godliness is, in both the Old and New Testament, a life of joy.

Edna Ferber makes a character in one of her novels say, "I like people with a splash of splendor in their makeup." Many people would be surprised to know that this is what should characterize every believer in Jesus. The world often gets a perverted concept of Christ just because ...read more

Scripture: John 15:11