Sermons on Change Direction:

Call Me Barabbas

Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Mar 12, 2008

Politician Pilate is on trial now, and he has a finger in the air checking the wind’s direction. Instead of doing what is right, he does what is easy. Link inc. to formatted text, audio, and PowerPoint Template.

Call Me Barabbas Matthew 27:11-31 http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Barabbas.html Last time we saw the religious phase of Jesus’ trial, in which He was accused of blasphemy. But that charge wasn’t worthy of death in the Roman world, so they need to try to dig something else up. How about treason? ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:11-31

Denomination: Baptist

Calling In The Wilderness

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Feb 17, 2013

A sermon for the first Sunday of Lent

Luke 4:1-13 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Romans 10:9-13 I’m told that it’s impossible to be hungry in the desert because of the sand which is everywhere. Today our readings take us into the desert, or the wilderness if you prefer (the words are the same in the Greek and Hebrew). Why is this ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Jesus Answers The Divorce Question Series

Contributed by David Owens on Sep 11, 2023

When Jesus returned to His public ministry in Mark 10, the Pharisees tried to trap Him with a question about divorce. Jesus dealt with their question by directing them back to God's original design and intent in creation.

A. In the last two sermons in our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark, we have been watching Jesus privately teaching His disciples some very important lessons on discipleship. 1. The topics He discussed with them were about prayer, the passion of Jesus, pride and prejudice. 2. I trust that we have ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:1-12, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Isn't Anything Sacred Anymore?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Jan 16, 2005

This sermon discusses the need for change in our lives: From repenting and turning towards Christ to the willngness to step out of our comfort zones to follow Him.

January 23, 2005 Good morning. Let me start by saying that Diana and I could not wait to get back up here. It’s like that old John Denver song: ‘It’s Good To Be Back Home Again.’ And, we do consider this our home now. Thank you for inviting us to be a part of your church. I want to talk to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38

Denomination: *other

When Crying Isn't Enough Series

Contributed by Doug Johnston on Aug 27, 2001

Instead of being satisfied to feel "sorry" when we miss God’s mark, we should press on to produce change in life to please Him.

Introduction Israel lamented that God’s help was missing (7:1-2). They cried about it for 20 years (7:2). Yet, they never felt the need to do anything about it other than cry and be sad for their lack of spiritual happiness during all this time. After all, no one else was any closer to God. At ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Choices

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Mar 4, 2009

This is a sermon dealing with how we go about making choices. I preached it in response to our church’s decision over changing denominations.

Choices Genesis 13:5-18 Luke 9:18-27 In order for us to have arrived here today, we all had to make choices. A choice to get up. A choice to get dressed. A choice to leave the house. A choice to take a certain route. A choice to enter the building. A choice to take a seat and a choice ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 13:5-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Why A New Church?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Oct 20, 2006

A message explaining why we decided to plant a church. This can be adapted to show why we need to change formats, names, etc.

An old fisherman used to amaze all the locals with how many fish he was able to catch. It didn’t matter what the weather was like, or how much other fishermen were able to catch, he always caught more than anyone else. The stories became legend, and soon reached the local game warden. He showed ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:20-21

Denomination: *other

Why God, Why Are You So Mean And Jesus So Nice?

Contributed by Coz Von on Apr 11, 2014

People see God as a mean tyrant and Jesus as the Gentle Lamb of God and they cant seem to reconcile the two Why the huge Character change?

God is a God of perfect order, and He had to go through certain calculated steps to create, in the same way he had to go through certain steps to save. The story of our lives is prefigured in two cities. In genesis the Bible talks about Salem. And this city became Jerusalem. Jesus came to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11-14, Matthew 5:17-19

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Joseph Of Arimathea The Corageous Coward Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 18, 2021

It took the crisis of the cross to change his cowardice into courage. Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring out a man's true faith.

A fireman who was half dead from exhaustion and smoke inhalation, with face dirty and uniform covered with grime, staggers past the crowd and is almost deafened by their shouts and cheers for him. He has just come from a burning building where, at the risk of his life, he climbed to the third ...read more

Scripture: Mark 15:37-47

Jesus Said, "I Am The Way."

Contributed by Jack Harris on Mar 13, 2010

With all the options available to mankind via technology, the one true Way has never changed or beeen improved upon. This way is perfect, available and eternal!

JESUS SAID, “I AM THE WAY…!” John 14:4-6 Int. One of the greatest things Jesus ever said was in response to a question of a doubting man. Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, was a man who would never say that he understood when in reality, he did not understand. He was far too ...read more

Scripture: John 14:4-6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Astonished! Series

Contributed by David Lansdown on Sep 16, 2002

What made Saul look so different? How did they recognise the change? What was it about him that brought about such astonishment? Let’s see if we can pinpoint the changes that occurred. We want to discover how we as fellow believers should look, in order t

ASTONISHED! Acts 9:18-31 INTRODUCTION Hold up picture of antlion and ask – ‘What do you think this is?’ (AWAIT RESPONSES) Hold up picture of antlion pits and explain that these are the traps antlions build to catch their prey. Hold up picture of lacewing and ask – ‘What do you think this ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:18-31

Denomination: Baptist

Who Do You Believe? Introduction (Session 0) Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Jan 23, 2010

There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds. These sessio

Who you believe: Introduction In this series of studies we continue our quest to establish what is true about God, the Bible and us. Ask ten people the question “What is a Christian?” and you will probably get 10 different answers. Some answers may contain a grain of truth, others ...read more

Scripture: John 10:10

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Letter To Me

Contributed by James White on Mar 31, 2011

HOW you were born the 1st time makes no difference… OH but WHAT a difference being Born Again makes. It doesn’t change your past, but it releases you from it. It will change your present and make you brand spanking NEW.

Brad Paisley wrote and sings a song which I am borrowing the title from today. “Letter to me” speaks of a desire to send a message to his own past self. It’s a note of encouragement…words to the wise and hope for the future. From the moment of our birth, we begin a lifelong ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-10

Denomination: Pentecostal

Navigating The Surprises Of Life

Contributed by Mark Opperman on Aug 29, 2011

God can and will help us change so we can be better equipped to handle change. If we will go all in with God and give our lives to Him, He will help us learn to navigate the surprises of life in a way that brings Him honor and produces something good in o

Navigating the Surprises of Life Intro: How many of you enjoy surprises? I know, I know – it depends on what the surprise is. For example, your tax return comes back with $500 more than you expected – that is a good surprise! Or, back when we used VCR’s… one day you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Separating The Wheat From The Weeds

Contributed by Craig Condon on Apr 8, 2015

While the forces of good and evil will be sorted out some day, there is still time for change until that day comes. It is a story about grace, patience and hope. Don’t we often look back on our own mistakes and become thankful that we had time to change?

When I worked at a local lumber mill several years ago, part of my duties included grading lumber. By that I mean separating lumber according to its qualities as determined by both the National Lumber Grading Authority rules and common sense. In other words, I was separating good lumber from bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43

Denomination: Anglican