Sermons on Close Encounter:

What Does It Mean To Be "Perfect?"

Contributed by James Cloud on Dec 21, 2007

Exploring the principles that make us more Christlike.

What Does It Mean To Be Perfect? Illustration: (There was a young boy who had been writing God a note on how good he had been throughout the past year. He began by writing, “Dear God, I have been good for six months now and I think I deserve a good gift for Christmas.” Upon thinking about it he ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9

Denomination: Anglican

All Is Vanity Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 22, 2007

Solomon, Pt. 3

ALL IS VANITY (1 KINGS 11:1-14) A Jewish story tells of Alexander the Great’s presence before the gates of paradise on his journey home after he had conquered the whole world. Seeing that the gates would not open for him, he asked for a token to prove that he was there. All he got was a human eye. ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

You Only Live Once Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 22, 2007

Parables for Seekers, Pt. 6

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (LUKE 16:19-31) A Sunday school teacher told his class the story of the rich man and Lazarus. He explained that the wealthy man had wonderful clothes, lived in luxury and had all the food he could eat; but he had no compassion for the beggar, who longed for a few crumbs from the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Pay Up Or Pack Up Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 22, 2007

Parables for Seekers, Pt. 8

PAY UP OR PACK UP (MATTHEW 21:33-44) US News and World Report (3/31/97) polled 1,000 people several years ago on who they thought were people “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to go to heaven. The person most likely to go to heaven was none other than Mother Teresa, who garnered 79 percent of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:32-46

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Harvest At The End Of The Age Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 22, 2007

Parables for Stewards, Pt. 1

THE HARVEST AT THE END OF THE AGE (MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43) One summer (2007), Pastor Michael, a Chinese missionary with our denomination, was on furlough from his work in Peru. He and his wife decided to visit Los Angeles area pastors to share about their work with coworkers and friends they ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43

Denomination: Independent/Bible

To Forgive Is Human Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 22, 2007

Parables for Stewards, Pt. 2

TO FORGIVE IS HUMAN (MATTHEW 18:21-35) Some officers during the Korean War rented a house for themselves and hired a Korean houseboy to work for them. He was a cheerful, happy soul, and they were young and had a lot of fun playing tricks on him. The officers would nail his shoes to the floor, and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Son Of David

Contributed by David Scudder on Dec 24, 2007

How can we know if Jesus is the Son of David? Why is it important to us today if He is?

The Son of David Matthew 1:1; 2:1-2 Purpose: To explain the importance of the title “Son of David.” Aim: I want the listener to humbly worship Christ as King. INTRODUCTION: History records for us an interesting footnote. It was during the dark winter of 1864. At Petersburg, Virginia, the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:1

Denomination: Independent/Bible

'the Coming Wonder.' Part 2 Series

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Dec 25, 2007

Part two of the coming wonder looks at the personhood of the Messiah.

Isaiah 9: 1-7 The coming wonder part 2. The extraordinary child Okay, last week we went mountaineering and reached the summit of the great mission of the Messiah through the eyes of Isaiah. The Messiahs mission was to bring light and liberation to a people who are living in gloom and distress 9:1 ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7

Denomination: Baptist

Loving People And Using Things Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Dec 26, 2007

Friend of Sinners, Pt. 7 (Final)

LOVING PEOPLE AND USING THINGS (LUKE 19:1-10) One of the greatest novels written, as well as my favorite Broadway musical, is “Les Miserables,” the story of Jean Valjean’s transformation from an uncaring and unfeeling man into a kind, noble, generous, sacrificial and selfless man later in life. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Future To Ponder Series

Contributed by Mike Gilbert on Dec 29, 2007

How to face the future. Last message of the year or first message of new year, preparing for the coming year.

INTRO> It was one of the famous lines from “Gone With the Wind”: Scarlett O’Hara was the speaker. The line: “Oh, I don’t want to think about that today. I’ll think about that tomorrow, because after all...tomorrow is another day!” -->Another person expressed the same idea at the end of last ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:34-38

Denomination: Baptist

Have You Found What You're Looking For? Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Dec 31, 2007

The world is searching for answers, and Jesus is the greatest answer to their search.

Over 20 years ago, before the iron curtain fell, there was a movie called “Red Dawn.” It portrayed the overrunning of the US by a communist invasion in the first few minutes. The rest of the movie follows the lives of some who are part of “the resistance” in occupied America territory. It was an ...read more

Scripture: John 1:35-51

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Preparing The Way For The Lord Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Dec 31, 2007

People are best prepared to receive Jesus when His servants are helping them to prepare

Last month, we paused to honor our graduates here. For each one of those young men and women, there are some stories of moms and dads giving each other high fives, lots of smiles, lots of sharing of joy. A lot of teachers had a hand in that diploma. We have many of you in our congregation. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:19-34

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Ultimate Gift

Contributed by Matthew Sickling on Jan 1, 2008

This sermon looks at the gifts of Christmas and also the importance of giving.

Title: “The ultimate Gift” Text: Matthew 2:1-11 Date: 12/28/2007 Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church Introduction: Wednesday night, while visiting with my family in Calvert City we watched a movie starring James Garner entitled, “The Ultimate Gift.” In the movie Garner plays the part of a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Your Married Name Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Jan 2, 2008

Considering the names Beulah and Hephzibah to understand what it means and how desireable it is to be in a righ relationship with God.

Happy Watangi Day! For those of you who don’t know, that was this past week. Watangi Day is a New Zealand holiday. If you would like to learn more about it, ask the Hintens, they used to live there. I think I know why they left there now… There’s a hill in New Zealand called: ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 62:1-12

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Prayer Of Moses

Contributed by Ben Peak on Jan 3, 2008

God is angry with the children of Israel, but, as he does several times in this book, Moses pleads with the Lord on behalf of the people.

Maybe you’ve heard the story about a pastor who woke up from his after-dinner nap one late February Sunday in no mood at all to preach in that evening service. When he stepped out onto his porch his desire to preach lessened even more as he felt the nice warm air that had been missing from his ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:9-17

Denomination: Holiness