Sermons on Constructive Criticism:

You Shall Love

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Oct 23, 2014

Make a Friend -- Be A Friend -- Bring A Friend To Christ. Loving your neighbor is at the heart .of making a Friend.You're not living if you're not loving. You Shall Love!

For Those not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four Scripture readings Prior to the Message. Today's readings are Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Psalm 90; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46. It has been said .....that love...... may not make the world go around, .....but it sure makes the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:34-46

Denomination: Anglican

Refiners Fire

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Jan 27, 2014

The Woman asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy when I see my image in it." This day, I want to speak of the Refiners Fire. Updated February 2025.

For those not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four Scripture Readings prior to the message. Today's readings are: Malachi 3:1-5; Psalm 126; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21 and Luke 3:1-6 Let us pray... O' Heavenly Father. You are the refiner of our souls. May we have confidence in your ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:29, Romans 8:18, Ephesians 1:22, Titus 2:14, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 4:12-13, 1 John 1:9, Romans 12:1-2, Nehemiah 8:10, James 1:2-3  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Appearances Can Be Deceiving / The Parable Of The 10 Bridesmades

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Nov 14, 2017

The Meaning behind the Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids (Virgins). The Greek word translated foolish is "Moros" from which we have received the politically incorrect description of "Moron".

A film crew ... was on location ... deep ... in the desert. One day ... an elderly Native American ... who had been watching the filming for several weeks ... went boldly up to the director and said, ... "Tomorrow rain." And sure enough ... The next day ... it rained. A week later, ... the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Anglican

Stay Thirsty My Friends

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 21, 2014

Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The world understands this need this thirst. There is an Ad that features Jonathan Goldsmith as "The world's most interesting man" He ends the ad by saying -Stay thirsty my friends. Updated February 2020.

For those that are not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four Scripture readings before the "Message" Today's appointed readings were: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; and John 4:5-42 A small boy ... was sent to bed by his father...... Five minutes later... ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6, Psalm 63:1, Psalm 42:1, John 7:37, John 4:5-15, Isaiah 12:3  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Hit The Stop Button And Get Off The Merry-Go-Round

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Apr 8, 2016

Jesus will meet us at what ever level our love and commitment. It is time for us to hit the stop button and to get off of the "Guilt" Merry-Go-Round. It is time to move forward in the faith and to be conformed into the image of Christ.

For those unfamiliar with an Anglican Service there are four Scripture readings before the message. Today’s readings were: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14 and John 21:1-19. The Prairie Home Companion tells a story ... of a man ... from Lake Wobegon. He would come to the altar time ...read more

Scripture: John 21:1-19

Denomination: Anglican

Seize The Day / Strike While The Iron Is Hot

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Oct 25, 2021

There is an adage: "Strike while the iron is hot". When the time is right, you should act. You should seize the moment or you will lose your opportunity. We are called to be a witness and to bring others to Jesus. We need to strike when God gives us an opportunity.

There is an adage ... that you may still hear at times even today: .... "Strike ... while the iron is hot". The saying is basically telling us .... that when the time is right... you should act... you should seize the moment ... or you will miss out ... on your opportunity. The adage ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-9, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 10:46-52

Denomination: Anglican

Funeral Message - (Wife, Mother And Grandmother)

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Jun 27, 2022

Anne's life and her death has left an imprint on everyone who had the honor and privilege to know her. Few things are more powerful than the tears and the prayers of a mother. Few things are more tender than a mother's hug or her compassionate touch.

On behalf of Linda, Cindy, Lee, Lynn, Al, Laura and the whole extended _______ family. Thank you. Thank you for your prayerful support ... and for taking time this day ....to celebrate the life .... of ... Anne Mally ________. Wife, Mother, Mother-in-law, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Great ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:13, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, John 17:16, John 11:25-26, John 14:1-6  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Fulfilling Friendships

Contributed by Brian Williams on Apr 6, 2023

What do you think qualifies a person to be a friend? How can we be wise when it comes to choosing our friends? How can we build lasting and fulfilling friendships? God gives us insight about the qualities of true friendship in the Bible and especially in the book of Proverbs.

If you were to think about your friends. How many close friends would you say you have? What about good friends, or acquaintances? According to Dunbar, prof of psychology at Oxford University who developed a theory about friendships, a person, on average, may have about 500 acquaintances, 150 ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God’s Blessings Can Be Lost

Contributed by Kelvin Mckisic on Sep 12, 2024

As we go through our Christian, let us guard against our loss of love for Jesus. In our walk we sometimes feel that we got it and there is nothing more to do for the Lord.

Good morning my fellow believers in Christ Jesus. Today we are going to examine a passage in the book of Revelation that speaks of a church that was admonished by Jesus, letting them know that they have become lazy in their love for the Lord. They have gotten to the point where they feel that they ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7, Philippians 4:8-9

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Don't Allow People Rob Your Joy Series

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Feb 13, 2007

Philippians is commonly called the "Book of Joy". But Paul presents several thieves that try to rob us of our joy. The second thief: "Difficult People."

DO NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO ROB YOUR JOY ILLUSTRATION: A PREACHER told about his nine-year-old daughter who one day JUMPED off the SCHOOL BUS as it stopped in front of her house and SLAMMED her way through the front door. She MARCHED up the stairs into her ROOM and again SLAMMED the DOOR. All the ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Too Silly For A Funeral; Too Serious For A Party

Contributed by Michael Stark on Aug 2, 2019

Christians must be aware of becoming hypercritical of divine work and of other believers, ascribing what is done as unworthy of Christ. To explore this situation, the message is a study of Jesus' censure of the generation in which He then lived.

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Words Matter Series

Contributed by Wes Humble on Nov 16, 2006

A Sermon on the Ninth Commandment

“No lies about your neighbor.” Ex. 20:16 This Commandment has to do with controlling our tongue. That is a very important, but extremely difficult task. James tells us the tongue can be tamed by no man, James 3:1-8. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin comments: Over the past decade, whenever I have lectured ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:16

Denomination: *other

Moses And His Mentor Jethro

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Apr 11, 2023

The message looks at a brief incident of mentoring in the life of Moses. And without this mentoring that took place, Moses’ life could have been quite different. Let's see if we can learn some things about mentoring from God's word.

For the next few Sundays I want to dip into the Old Testament teachings. There are individuals in the Old Testament that we can learn a lot of things about and from. One of those things is mentoring others. Currently we have several individuals in our church who have volunteered to be mentors to ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 18:9-25

Denomination: Baptist

What's Wrong With That?

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on Mar 12, 2001

James answers the question: Is it wrong to be critical or judgmental of other Christians if what you say is true? If so, what’s wrong with it?

James answers the question: Is it wrong to be critical or judgmental of other Christians if what you say is true? If so, what’s wrong with it? “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but ...read more

Scripture: James 4:11-12

Denomination: Baptist

How To Measure Humility Series

Contributed by Dan Jackson on Sep 14, 2005

10th message in James series. James identifies two spheres of life as yardsticks for humility. The first is the relationship we have with other people, especially in what we say about them. The second is the goal or plans we have for the future.

Shirley MacLaine, the Oscar-winning actress, is a spokeswoman for the self-consumed philosophy of our day. The Los Angeles Times reported an interview in which she said: The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself…the only sustaining love is with yourself. When you look back on your ...read more

Scripture: James 4:11-17