Sermons on Anxious Bench:

When God Calls Your Name: Abraham Series

Contributed by Scott Bayles on Sep 11, 2021

How would you respond if God called your name not once, but twice? In the Bible, God calls plenty of people often by name, but I’ve only found seven times where God calls out someone’s name twice in a row. In each instance, what follows is a life-changing encounter with the God of creation.

When God Calls Your Name… Twice: Abraham Scott Bayles, pastor Blooming Grove Christian Church: 7/17/2016 How many of you are familiar with the gameshow The Price is Right? I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I grew up watching The Price is Right back when Bob Barker still hosted the show. Even as ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:2-12

Denomination: Christian Church

What Should Really Matter In Life?

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 17, 2022

The Bible clearly reveals what was important to the Lord. And the things that were important to Him should also be important to us. But that is not the case for some folks. It is amazing what some people see as important.

Illus: Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddle boats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail's pace of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:17-21

Denomination: Baptist

What Should Really Matter In Life?

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Dec 21, 2021

The Bible clearly reveals what was important to the Lord. And the things that were important to Him should also be important to us.

But that is not the case for some folks. It is amazing what some people see as important. Illus: Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddle boats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:17-21

Denomination: Baptist

Seek And Find

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Oct 4, 2023

Ask, Seek, Knock, a sermon based on an outline from the great old study guide called Handfulls on Purpose by James Smith and Robert Lee.

Seek and Find Matthew 7:7-11 • When I was growing up I remember one particular thing I enjoyed about going to the doctor or dentist office • As a child you are always nervous whether it is for a regular checkup • Or maybe you are actually sick • The worst was when I was going to have to get my ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11

Denomination: Baptist

How To Become A Good Buddy

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on May 31, 2022

Body language has become a very important thing these days.

Body language is used in nearly every aspect of daily life, and observing someone can sometimes tell you a lot about how a person is feeling and what is on their mind. For example, in poker, people try to limit their body language to prevent others from guessing their hand or what they might ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:36-37

Denomination: Baptist

God's Wedding Gift Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jun 10, 2022

Through regular sex with your spouse, pay him or her what you owe, praise the Lord, and put yourself at ease.

Rita Fischer of Dexter, Michigan, recalls her wedding day, which was unseasonably warm. To make matters worse, the air conditioning in the church wasn't working. She became increasingly uncomfortable in her gown. She grumbled during the photo session, then endured the receiving line, cutting ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:1-9

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Evidences Of Christ’s Living In The Believer

Contributed by Christopher Arch on Jun 16, 2023

Series in Philippians

Title: “Evidences of Christ’s Living in the Believer” Scripture: Phil. 1:27-30 Type: Expository/ Series Where: GNBC 6-11-23 Intro: Dwight Pentecost was a pastor, author, and professor. Taught at DTS for nearly 60 years before death in 2014. Told the story of preaching at a conference in ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Empowered To Serve Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Sep 23, 2022

Don’t be ignorant about your spiritual gift(s). Rather, appreciate the sure manifestations of the Spirit, the single source and purpose of your spiritual gifts, and the assortment of spiritual gifts God gives to the church.

When it comes to computers, some people hardly know a gigabyte from a mosquito bite. Just ask any technical support person at any of the major computer companies. Here are some of their stories: One computer company considered changing the command "Press Any Key" to "Press Return ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Matthew 16:15-17

Denomination: Evangelical Free

"get Up Out Of That Grave" Series

Contributed by Perry Fowler on Mar 28, 2024

What's exciting about the empty tomb?

Last Christmas, our family decided to do something different. We decided to take a vacation together in Orlando. A few of us are runners and my Son wanted to run one of the Disney series of races so we went to Disney, camped out in Ft. Wilderness and had a “running vacation.” I chose to do the ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

The Nature Of God And His People

Contributed by Christopher Arch on Jun 8, 2024

Series on I John.

Title: The Nature of God and His People Scripture: I Jn. 1:5-10 Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 6-9-24 Intro: Thomas Aquinas called theology the “queen of sciences.” But the study of theology—the study of God—was gradually sidelined and now finds no place in the contemporary curriculum. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-10

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Handling The World's Hatred Series

Contributed by Brian Williams on Feb 20, 2023

Nowhere in this passage does Jesus call any of His followers to seek revenge or retreat from the world because of their hatred towards you, but He is calling them to be an active, living testimony of the love and life of God.

As a review from the last Sundays, the narrative from chapters John 13 - 14 is describing Jesus is in His last week on earth and in chapters 15 on, it is down to the last hours before the crucifixion. He has been preparing the disciples for His death, eventual departure from the world and that ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Politics Of Jesus

Contributed by Tj Long Jr on Oct 30, 2023

Christians think they align with Jesus' views. Some are surprised, others offended. Jesus’ campaign sounds like a liberal utopia because we’re not ready to let go of hate, we’re not ready to trust in God and not in the law. We have to transcend hate and show the mercy we’ve been shown by God.

There are only two shows that I’ve ever watched the entire series. One of which I still own on DVD and have watched the entire series 3 times. If there was any show that I’d love to see still running today it would be this one. I’d love to see how it would interpret and respond to the issues of our ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6, Matthew 22:37-40

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

The Mind Of Christ

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 29, 2022

A college boy was explaining the reason he flunked out in college was because he had a clinker in his thinker.

Did you know that about ninety-nine-and-nine-tenths of the problems that confront people is because they have that same problem--they have a clinker in their thinkers? We laugh this off as not being important, but God sees the way people think as being very important. Illus: We see this in the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

Our Source Of Help!

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 30, 2022

We all put a lot of value on safety, and we should.

Illus: When I think of safety, I think of a man that worked in a paint mixing room. In his carelessness, he caused a tremendous explosion. After the explosion, they began to investigate what had happened. One of the fellows there saw what caused it to happen. • The investigator said, "You ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Dealing With The Lost 1 Of 5

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Apr 7, 2022

God put the church here for a specific purpose! It is obvious today as we look at many churches and compare them with the scriptures, that many churches are ignorant of their purpose.

Ignorance is something we see in all areas of life. Illus: When Vice President Al Gore was seeking to be president, he was running against President George W. Bush, who is known as a man of FAITH. God is a big part of his life. Gore knew that the polls indicated that the American people liked ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:13-14

Denomination: Baptist