Sermons on black shootings:

Hope Shines Through Series

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Mar 1, 2022

Out of the most desperate situations God is able to do a work of hope. The Messiah is a shoot from the stump of Jesse. From a stump God will raise up a ruler and king. Not just any king but the greatest the world will ever know, the Messiah, King Jesus.

In what way would you describe the almighty power of God? One way would be to picture a forest. A giant comes along something like “Paul Banyan” who walks through swinging a two sided axe and chops down trees with each swing. It would be like swinging a cycle in a field of wheat. The imagery is ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

The Cowboy Postcard

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jan 30, 2013

In the old silent movies you could tell the good guys by their white hats and the villains by their black hats. There are two "good guys" and one "bad guy" in this short postcard. This Bible study examines them and their character.

The Cowboy Postcard Series: New Testament Postcards Chuck Sligh January 27, 2013 TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to 3 John INTRODUCTION We have a tendency to look at the past through rose-tinted glasses. Have you ever heard anyone talk about “the good old days”? Well, the good old ...read more

Scripture: 3 John 1:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Breaking Down The Walls

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Aug 8, 2019

Just as the Apostle Paul had to deal with separations between Jewish and Gentile Christians in his day, we need to deal with separations between white and black churches (and many other ethnicities as well) today.

(This sermon was preached in 1997 and needs updated examples) There was once a subway car, almost empty, except for a Chinese man and a Jewish man, who sat in their seats, silently, holding their newspapers high as they read. Suddenly the Jewish man stood up, rolled up his newspaper, walked over ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22

From Zero To Hero Pt. 2 Series

Contributed by Ryan Akers on Mar 27, 2006

The world has a twisted view today of what makes a hero. But God says the real heroes aren’t the ones that can fly or shoot webbing, the real heroes, the spiritual heroes are the ones that will give their lives to follow Him. These heroes have greater spi

FROM ZERO TO HERO HEROES TO MODEL YOUR LIFE AFTER(DAVID) I Samuel 17:1-11, 24-25, 32-33 ILL. Rudy the movie- small kid, no athletic ability, had a dream of playing football. Went to Notre Dame and wanted to make the football team. His family said he couldn’t do it, his friends said he couldn’t do ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:1-11

Denomination: Wesleyan

Confessions: Phone Booth Series

Contributed by J John on Dec 20, 2007

Does art imitate life or life imitate art? Joel Schumacher’s wonderful thriller Phone Booth was originally set to be released in November 2002, but as a result of the terrifying shooting spree by the notorious ‘Washington Sniper’, 20th-Century Fox chose t

--note-- 2003, Fox Directed by Joel Schumacher Screenplay by Larry Cohen Colin Farrell as Stu Shepard Kiefer Sutherland as The Caller Rated R for pervasive language and some violence - - - - - Does art imitate life or life imitate art? Joel Schumacher’s wonderful thriller Phone Booth was originally ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:10

Denomination: *other

Spiritual Anarchy

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Apr 13, 2011

This sermon uses spiritual math: one person with no spiritual compass plus another person with no spiritual compass is greater than the sum of the two... it is actually multiplied until they become a black hole of sin sucking in other persons.

Spiritual Anarchy Judges 17 & 18 READ: “(Judges is) one of the most difficult books to deal with in all of the Old Testament is the book of Judges. It contains the stories of men and women who lived during the “dark ages” of Israel’s spiritual history. These people lived in ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Why Should The Work Stop? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 17, 2008

For Lent and for Black History Month: Those who are threatened by progress will always ask us not to go too far. But this church must not stop reaching all people, serving all needs, touching all children and youth.

In the fall of 1955 I sat in the auditorium of the Speed Scientific School at the University of Louisville, one of about 300 newly admitted engineering students. The dean welcomed us, and yet also warned us. He instructed us, “Look at the person on your right. Now look at the person on your ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 6:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Splash Of Colour -A Night To Remember Christmas Eve...2

Contributed by John Gullick on Dec 23, 2015

2nd sermon of this title by me ten years apart. This one is for Christmas 2015 - uses a metaphor that Christmas eve is a splash of colour on a black backdrop of history. I will probably do a painting as I preach it.

Christmas eve. A night to remember LK 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Waiting For Full Joy

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 22, 2010

Delivered 1989, on the 25th anniversary of the reception of the church's first black member. We wait for full joy and unity, which come from embracing all people and from being the agents of redemption for all needs.

Exactly twenty-five years ago, two things happened which were destined to have a profound effect on my life, and I want to share them with you this morning. These two unrelated happenings took place without the people involved in either one being aware of the other one, but, as I have said, both ...read more

Scripture: John 17:6-18

Denomination: Baptist

The Redemptive Role Of Africans

Contributed by Norris Harris I on Mar 2, 2003

This message deals with How God uses Persons of African Descent in His Redemptive Plan based on the Young Egytpian Man found in the field in our Target Text. This message was preached during Black History Month in Bryan, Texas.

WE NEED TO TALK! Jesse Semple, a Harlem cab driver, asked Derrick Bell, a profound Black author, “Tell me what’s to celebrate about the condition of Black people who die too soon, go to prison too long, and come to know life’s blues far too early? Tell me how a holiday for Dr. King or a month of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 30:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Difficult Questions, Unexpected Answers

Contributed by Scott Jensen on Oct 24, 2008

Questions are part of daily life. Some questions have black-and-white answers, others are in the shades of gray. Some questions have no answers. How we ask God questions is a reflection of our attitude towards Him.

Difficult Questions, Unexpected Answers Matthew 22:15-22 Introduction People, by nature, are inquisitive. There are many unanswered dilemmas that we want to know the outcome. We want answers. We want them now! But we want them to meet our expectations. Look at how we view the upcoming ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22

Denomination: Lutheran

Bread Of Adversity, Cup Of Affliction, Begone!

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Feb 2, 2010

For Black History Month: The "world the slaves made" (Genovese) was one they chose to make, seeing hope and possibility in what God had done and in following the Teacher, Christ. He ate the bread of adversity and drank the cup of affliction, but rose in

By the light of the flickering bonfire you could see them. Gathering from the little cabins down by the creek, coming up the road from the brush arbor, a few of them on a creaky old wagon pulled by two mules. Something exciting was happening here tonight! Their laughter told you, too, that this ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 30:18-22

Denomination: Baptist

The Graciousness Spectrum Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 3, 2014

We humans and yes, we believers, are not all good or bad, black or white. We exist on a spectrum; at one end is Christlikeness, graciousness, truth, love. On the other end is self-centeredness, withholding of grace, compromised truth, and control.

The Graciousness Spectrum (Proverbs 22:8, 10-12) 1. Do you make fewer phone calls than you used to? 2. According to UPI, “…making phone calls is the sixth most common use of a cellphone, with first being sending text messages and second being receiving texts. Reading personal emails ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:8-12

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Hosea’s Risky Love, Part 2

Contributed by Amiri Hooker on Aug 1, 2022

In the days the past, the clarion call and mission of the black church was two-fold: it served as a beacon of hope for the lost-soul seeking grace and mercy, but it also functioned as an oasis for all issues affecting the community. BMCR is That for the United Methodist Church

Hosea 11:1-5, 9-11 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 11:2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols. 11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 11:1-5, Hosea 11:9-11

Denomination: United Methodist

The Glory Inside.

Contributed by Howard Strickland on Feb 6, 2024

What do you think the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, looked like? You might imagine it being very impressive, but not really, more than likely it looked dark, mostly black, or maybe it was a very dark shade of brown.

The Glory Inside. Exodus 40:1-3 What do you think the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, looked like? You might imagine it being very impressive, but not really, more than likely it looked dark, mostly black, or maybe it was a very dark shade of brown. It’s outer covering was of badgers skin. So ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 40:1-3, 1 Peter 1:7

Denomination: Pentecostal