Sermons on Clever:

Let's Make A Deal

Contributed by Chris Tiller on Dec 14, 2005

Parable of the dishonest manager: The Kingdom of God works on different principles than we’re used to. Efficiency, practicality, and self-interest are not the core values of the Kingdom. God expects a lot more for us (and from us) than we expect him to.

There was a rich man. This man was so rich that he didn’t make his own bed. He had a personal maid who did that. He didn’t make his own dinner. He had a personal chef who did that. He didn’t drive his own car. He had a chauffeur who did that. He didn’t balance his own checkbook. He had a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Woman Of Tyre A Mother’s Faithand Dog Food Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 19, 2021

Jesus never complimented anyone in a higher way than her, and yet she was a nobody. She was not the wife of a great man, or the mother of outstanding children. We don't even know her name. Her only claim to fame was her faith, for it was great, and it was motivated by her love as a mother.

Lucy Webb Hayes was one of the greatest mothers to ever live in the White House. She was the wife of the 19th President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected in 1877. She was the first college educated first lady of the United States, but more important, she brought to the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30

A Gracious Master / The Meaning Behind The Parable Of The Unjust Manager

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Sep 22, 2013

This parable is deeply embedded in Middle Eastern tradition and culture, and it is to that culture that interpreters should turn.

By the fourth century the parable of the unjust manager ..... which we read today ...... and the parable of the prodigal son were separated by ..... a chapter division. If the monks who established those divisions ...... had kept the two parables in the same chapter, ....... The entire history of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13-19, Luke 16:1-13

Denomination: Anglican

The Word Of The Cross Series

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Jul 22, 2004

God’s Word will do God’s work, in you, and through you.

“For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside”. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Denomination: Orthodox

Sound Doctrine Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

The stability of the church depends on the leaderships commitment to the Word of God. The orthodox doctrines, or teachings that come from Christ and his Apostles is the foundation that can never change.

Rusty Stevens, a Navigator Director, tells this story. He was pushing the lawn mower around his yard trying to get done before supper was on the table. His 6 year old son Mikey came out and stepped in front of him, grabbed the handle of the mower and started to push. The father quit pushing and ...read more

Scripture: Titus 1:15-16

The Quagmire Of Mankind’s Separation-2

Contributed by Byron Sherman on Sep 26, 2012

2 of 3. Genesis concisely details a separation of nations following the Flood. What defines the quagmire of mankind’s separation? The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...

The QUAGMIRE Of MANKIND’s SEPARATION-II—Genesis 10:1-32 & 11:1-9 Mankind became separated into various nations following the Flood. Genesis details the origins of the nations following the Flood. Genesis concisely details the separation of the nations following the Flood. Genesis concisely ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Deceived By Sight: The Danger Of Forgetting To Ask

Contributed by Paul Dayao on Sep 24, 2025

Highlighting the irony that pagan Gibeonites acted in fear of God's reputation while Israel did not, this sermon on Joshua 9 warns that we fail when we rely on our own perception instead of seeking God's counsel.

Introduction: The Two Enemies In our spiritual walk, we face two kinds of enemies. First, there is the enemy that comes like a roaring lion—the open, obvious, and frontal assault. This is the threat we see coming, the persecution, the direct temptation. After Israel’s great victory at Jericho, all ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Simplicity Versus Complexity

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 13, 2021

We need to see that the primary problem of the Pharisees was that they were too religious. Some people go bad because of their vices, and others because of their virtues.

Human nature loves to magnify the minute and give significance to the insignificant by the simple method of stretching the truth. An army cook, for example, feed a mob of men with scrambled eggs, and then he sat down and wrote to his girl friend: "Dearest, for two hours shells have been ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

The Ricochet Of Hidden Arrows

Contributed by Paul Dayao on Aug 26, 2025

This sermon on Psalm 64 describes how God provides a sure defense against hidden enemies and malicious words, turning their secret schemes back on themselves to reveal His justice to the world.

There is a unique kind of pain that comes from an unseen enemy. It’s the pain of a wound that leaves no scar, a battle fought in the shadows. We’ve all experienced it in some form. Maybe it was a rumor spread behind your back, a malicious whisper that tainted your reputation, or a secret plot to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

"Verbi Domini Minister” Series

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Aug 21, 2004

The Christian is called to give one, simple message to the unchurched. It is the gospel in its simplicity.

“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” In his commentary on I Corinthians, Simon J. Kistemaker documents that in earlier centuries it was common for preachers of the gospel to write the letters, “V.D.M.” after their name. The letters stand for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:2

Denomination: Orthodox

A Perplexing Parable Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 26, 2021

Jesus is saying to His disciples that they can learn from non-Christian dedication, even the dedication of crooks. Look at the world and learn something from their commitment to their evil goals.

Have you ever heard or read of such a unique and perfectly planned crime that you said to yourself, "That was really clever"? For example, was it not amazing that that group of men in England could steal millions of dollars without firing a shot? We have to admit it was a bad thing well ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-15

Honest To God Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

Dishonesty will hinder the work of God in the soul of any man, whether they be believer or unbeliever. Honesty, therefore, or facing up to the full truth about ourselves in relation to God and the world, is a subject we cannot afford to neglect.

Branch Rickey use to coach the University of Michigan baseball team before he became manager of the Dodgers. One day they were playing Brown University, and the Brown catcher, Walter Snell, hit what might have been a three bagger, but he stretched it into a home run. The first baseman, however, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 51:6

Man Has Twisted, Contorted, Inverted, And Opposed All God’s Creation – Part 1 – Genesis Chapter 1 Series

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 27, 2023

Every aspect of God’s perfect creation in Genesis 1 has been inverted by man to make monstrosities out of what God created and said, “It is good.” Satan is the one who will destroy and mangle all for evil. We look at these items Satan has mangled, twisted and inverted.

MAN HAS TWISTED, CONTORTED, INVERTED, AND OPPOSED ALL GOD’S CREATION – PART 1 – GENESIS CHAPTER 1 We are now living in a twisted, contorted and inverted world. In fact the change has not been a slow creeping of the years, but a very rapid convolution that has ascended from the pit and into the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:25-27, Colossians 2:8-9, John 1:3-4, Hebrews 11:6, Revelation 21:1, Philippians 2:9-11  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Fool Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Apr 19, 2006

God of Wonders, Pt. 2

THE FOOL (PSALMS 14) A college student was in a Philosophy class, where a class discussion about whether or not God exists was in progress. The professor had the following logic: “Has anyone in this class heard God?” Nobody spoke. “Has anyone in this class touched God?” Again, nobody spoke. “Has ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 14:1-7

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Fool Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 20, 2007

God of Wonders, Pt. 2

THE FOOL (PSALMS 14) A college student was in a philosophy class, where a class discussion about whether or not God exists was in progress. The professor had the following logic: “Has anyone in this class heard God?” Nobody spoke. “Has anyone in this class touched God?” Again, nobody spoke. “Has ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 14:1-7

Denomination: Independent/Bible