Sermons on Commit To Serving:

Freedom & Forgiveness Are Never Free!

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 20, 2000

"Freedom is never free." It sounds like a paradox when you say it, but it is true. "Freedom is never free." In the same way, forgiveness is never free.

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (REVISED: 2016) TEXT: Luke 7:36-50 As you know, Friday was Veteran's Day. Throughout this nation & around the world, wherever our nation's flag flies, some people, at least, paused to remember the price that has ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Praying With Joy! Series

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 20, 2000

Is prayer a first response to you? Or is it a last resort? Do you pray in an attitude of gratitude? Or are you always grumbling? When you pray, do you make sure that God receives the glory, & not you?

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK This morning I would like for us to go back nearly 2,000 years to the city of Rome. It is an exciting time to be in Rome, a metropolis of gladiators, chariots, & palaces. But we’re not going to stop at the coliseum or ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Lion Is A Lamb

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 26, 2000

God’s power is often displayed in weakness.

It may seem strange to speak about Christmas with a passage from the book of Revelation. But we see here, perhaps more clearly than anywhere else, the great paradox of God — the power of God displayed in weakness. Let’s look at this passage with an attempt to understand its meaning and ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 5:1-14

Denomination: Methodist

Fooling The Magician

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 30, 2000

We fool the magician (Satan, the master illusionist) by refusing to believe the illusion, pulling back the curtain and trusting the unseen reality.

Some of you may have seen David Copperfield perform his magic. His act includes a lot of glitzy conjuration, including: levitating himself, being sawn in two, and making things appear and disappear. Using illusion, he has carried the art to the extreme. He has “walked through” the Great Wall of ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 73:1-28

Denomination: Methodist

In The Beginning

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 31, 2000

Creation tells us that we are valuable to God, accountable to God, and that there is a purpose to our existence.

The story goes that one day a group of scientists had a meeting and decided that humans had come so far that they no longer needed God. After reaching their decision they appointed one of their number to go and explain to God that his services were no longer required. He said, “God, we’ve ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Flood Insurance

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 31, 2000

The story of the flood tells us that God holds the world accountable for its behavior. He is in control, but he is patient, and he rewards the righteous.

On January 1st I told my wife that I hoped I would never hear the phrase Y2K again. I was so tired of hearing it all through 1999, only to have it go by without a glitch. But then we had to wait until the first business day before we really knew if we got by Y2K A.O.K. Still, not the slightest ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:1-13

Denomination: Methodist

The Faces Of Deception (The Ninth Commandment) Series

Contributed by Timothy Peck on Jan 4, 2001

Since truth exists we ought to seek the truth, tell the truth, live the truth, and share the truth with others.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." That’s what Sir Walter Scott said almost 200 years ago, and it’s just as true today as it was then. Yet that doesn’t stop most of us from lying, does it? The 1992 book The Day America Told the Truth found that 91% of us lie ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:20, Exodus 20:16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Christ: Our Example

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Jan 9, 2001

Of COMPASSION, of PURPOSE, of OBEDIENCE

It is important to our purposes here, to briefly discuss the chronology of the events recorded in the first 18 verses of John chapter 5. Jesus has just come from Galilee, where the gospel writers tell us He was performing many miracles and teaching the people. It is very near the end of the ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-18

Denomination: Orthodox

To Reclaim Our Heritage

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 11, 2001

Are you aware that America is in a cultural civil war? This message suggests 5 things that we can do to reclaim the heritage that is ours as Christians.

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (Revised: 2014) A. Are you aware that America is in a cultural civil war? William Bennett, former head of the U.S. Dept. of Education, wrote, "America is engaged in an on going & intensifying cultural war. Over ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Lamentations 5:21-22

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Agenda Anxiety Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 22, 2001

When Jesus speaks to the church, as to ancient Jerusalem, he gives us agenda anxiety, for we fear that we are not going to get done what we want to do, since his agenda is far different.

The campaigns are over. So are the celebrations and the inaugural balls. The toasts, the handshakes, the good wishes are about to fade into memory. Today, for George Walker Bush, the work begins. Today, the list of things to do takes on shape. Today, the agenda becomes different. Yesterday he ...read more

Scripture: John 7:14-46

Denomination: Baptist

A Vision That Changed The World Series

Contributed by John Hamby on Jan 23, 2001

How Peter’s vision changed the outreach of the church.

A Study of the Book of Acts Sermon # 20 “A Vision that Changed the World” Acts 10:1-33 God had called the people of Israel to a special relationship with Him so that they might be His people, his witnesses, His missionaries to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 10:1-33

Denomination: Baptist

Are You Really Ready

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Jan 24, 2001

This sermon uses the parable of the 10 Virgins to force us to consider whether or not we are prepared to meet the Lord.

Are You Really Ready? Eccl 9:11-12 Matthew 25:1-13 Text Matthew 25:1-13 Sometimes in life we live for the deadline, and don’t take advantage of the present time. How many of you have had teachers who told you this assignment is due in three weeks so start working on it now? You spent ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Joy Of Celebration Series

Contributed by Scott Hippler on Feb 5, 2001

5/5 - The task is not complete until we celebrate beore our God, now find out what yo need to do to truly celebrate before Him!

The city of Berlin, Germany will be forever famous for its infamous Wall. When the wall was still in existence, you could walk up and down in front of the wall and see shrines dedicated to those that were killed trying to escape from the oppression of the East to the freedom of the West. The ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 12:27-43

Denomination: Baptist

Found Innocent Series

Contributed by Byron Harvey on Feb 8, 2001

This is part four in a series on Galatians.

The Triumph of Grace “Found Innocent” June 18, 2000 This Morning’s Text – Galatians 2:15-21 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:15-21

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Should I Be Baptized? Series

Contributed by Aaron Jones on Feb 10, 2001

This sermon explores baptism in the process of salvation.

Billy Bartholomew was a rather interesting young boy. He had been going to church for a long time. Billy’s dad was a deacon. But Billy considered church to be rather boring. And so he saw it as his calling to spice things up a bit. Especially during baptisms. Little Billy was with his father on ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:18-20

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ