Sermons on Backpacking:

The Word Gives Life PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 2, 2025

Jesus’ promise gives present assurance of eternal life, freeing us from guilt and fear, and inviting us to trust fully in His finished work.

Some words rearrange a room, don’t they? A doctor says, “It’s benign,” and shoulders drop. A coach calls your name, and you run to the field. A judge declares, “You’re free to go,” and the hallway home seems shorter. Words can wrap around us like a warm blanket on a windy night. And then there are ...read more

Scripture: John 5:24

Topics: Abide, God's Word, Power

Lord, I'm Not Okay, But I'm Still Here PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 3, 2025

God invites our weary, honest selves to find true rest in His presence, offering comfort and strength for every burden we carry.

There’s a hush that comes when a roomful of tired hearts hears a kind voice. I believe that’s what this moment can be—a hush for hurried souls, a pause for people who have given their best and still feel thin, a holy breath for those who woke up weary. Some of us are carrying backpacks no one else ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28

Topics: Perseverance, Endurance

Steps To Making Prayer Part Of Daily Life PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 18, 2025

Prayer begins with trusting God as our Father, centering our lives on Him, and building a simple, daily rhythm of fellowship through Christ.

If you listen close enough, right where the morning is thin and the coffee is warm, you can almost hear the first word Jesus taught us to pray: Father. Not a distant title, not a cold address, but a name full of nearness and tenderness. The kind of name a child whispers when the night is long and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:2, John 14:28, John 12:44, 1 John 1:3

Topics: Prayer, Dialogue With God

Be Still And Know PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 20, 2025

The sermon invites us to slow down, release control, and find peace by trusting God’s presence and sovereignty amid life’s noise and anxiety.

Friends, some weeks feel like living in a wind tunnel. The headlines howl. The phone hums. The calendar crowds. Even our prayers can sound like hurried headlines—fast, faint, fragmented. And yet, in the middle of the noise, God offers a chair in a quiet corner, a deep breath for a weary chest, a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Topics: Knowing God, God

The Lukewarm Church PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 20, 2025

Jesus lovingly exposes our self-sufficiency, invites us to deeper dependence on Him, and offers restoration, hope, and true riches for our lukewarm hearts.

Some of us walked in today with a smile for the foyer and a sigh for the soul. Bills on the counter, deadlines on the calendar, questions on the heart. And yet, here we are, gathering around a Letter from Jesus to an ancient church in a city called Laodicea—a church with polished doors and tepid ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-21

Topics: Lukewarmness, Laodicea, Disgust

Finding Joy In The Midst Of Struggles PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 30, 2025

God’s presence brings peace and joy in life’s storms; we can trust Him, rejoice, and find hope even amid trials and uncertainty.

Friend, if your week has felt like a hailstorm of headlines and heartaches, you’re in good company here. God gathers the weary and the worried and whispers hope. He knows about the tightness in your chest at 2 a.m., the text that didn’t come, the bill that did, the doctor’s words you keep ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 16:11, James 1:2-4, John 16:33

Topics: Transcendent Joy, God's Peace

Antidote For Peace PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 30, 2025

God invites us to exchange anxiety for peace by rejoicing, praying with gratitude, and focusing our minds on what is true and good.

Friends, if your heart has felt heavy this week, you’re in familiar company. News feeds shout, calendars crowd, bills blink, phones buzz, and sleep slips away. We carry invisible backpacks stuffed with what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. Anxiety can feel like a bully in the hallway, pushing us ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-8

Topics: Faith, God, Trust

What Is God Like? The Prodigal

Contributed by Jeffrey Samelson on Mar 23, 2004

The Parable of the Prodigal is not really about the younger son; Jesus told it to illustrate what God is like, not what sinners are like.

Fourth Sunday in Lent — March 21, 2004 Christ Lutheran Church, Columbia, MD Pastor Jeff Samelson Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 What Is God Like? The Prodigal R________ (Rejected) R________ (Running) R________ (Restoring) W ________ (Waiting) prod·i·gal adj 1. recklessly extravagant, spendthrift 2. giving ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32, Luke 15:1-3

Denomination: Lutheran

"Construction Equipment" Series

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Jun 6, 2003

God gave gifts for the building up of the Church. Apostles prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. (#14 in the Unfathomable Love of Christ series)

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13

Denomination: Orthodox

Solitary Places

Contributed by Mike Hays on Mar 11, 2001

Satan desires to isolate us to destroy us, but God desires to draw us to solitary places to restore and renew us.

Solitary Places Luke 8:26-39 In Santee, California a boy turned fifteen just a few weeks ago. While fifteen year old freshmen in high school are supposed to be studying for their math exams and trying out for the freshmen baseball team or getting ready for their next Debate Team competition, Andy ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:26-38

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Enjoying Your Spiritual Possessions In Christ Series

Contributed by Bob Hostetler on Jun 6, 2002

First in a series on Ephesians

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?: Enjoying Your Spiritual Possessions in Christ Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:1-14   It actually debuted in England--did you know that? But YOU probably first heard of it sometime after August 16, 1999, when the primetime gameshow, Who Wants To Be A ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Safe And Secure

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on Oct 12, 2001

In the aftermath of 9/11/01 we need to find some safety and security in life.

SAFE AND SECURE Prov. 3:5-6, 24-26 INTRO.- ILL.- A backwoods boy was about to make his first parachute jump. His sergeant reminded him, “Count to ten and pull the first rip cord. If it doesn’t work, then pull the second rip cord for the auxiliary parachute. After you land, our truck will pick ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Is Your Heart? Series

Contributed by Robert Higgins on Sep 16, 2006

How is your heart? Is it resolute or does it surrender to your flesh when the flesh gets tired? Hebrews 12:1-4 gives us principles for allowing Jesus to make our hearts strong!

Flesh & Spirit – Part V: How is Your Heart? 1. Overview a. This week is the last sermon in our series of the “flesh and the spirit.” b. I hope that you learned more than head knowledge but also learned and are practicing some of the tools for walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. i. Even ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

Bringing Others To Jesus

Contributed by Gerald Steffy on Oct 7, 2009

“Bringing others to Jesus is the most important ministry we can do as Christ’s disciples."

BRINGING OTHERS TO JESUS Luke 5:17-26 Proposition: “Bringing others to Jesus is the most important ministry we can do as Christ’s disciples." Objective: My purpose is to challenge God’s people concerning the importance of bringing others to Jesus today. INTRODUCTION: Illus: During one ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Really Want What God Wants For You? Series

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jul 2, 2011

Jesus heals the man at the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus performed His first miracle in CANA turning water into wine. Then He took a trip to Jerusalem where He ran the moneychangers out of the Temple. Then back north where He met a Samaritan woman by a well. Jesus then heal a ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-9