Sermons on Cruz Brillante:

The Proper And Improper Way Of Ministry Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jul 24, 2016

Ministry should be the heart and soul of every Christian. When we minister, we must always find ways to keep on improving because at the end, God will is our judge. In this message we will learn how to do ministry the right way.

Let me start with a quote from Rick Warren. He said, "Faithful servants never retire. You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God." That is true. If you are a faithful servant of the Lord, there is no retirement here on earth because our retirement is in heaven ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:1-36

Denomination: Nazarene

Hearing The Voice Of God Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Aug 1, 2016

Ministry and hearing God's voice are important aspects of our service to God. The more we learn how to hear from God, the more we receive godly instructions. In this message we will learn how Samuel heard from God and shared this to Eli.

Through constant prayer and worship, we can hear God's voice. The more we hear Him, the more we receive fresh instructions from God for daily living. We need to hear Him speak to us on how we should act and what we should say to people. We need to hear Him how we should budget our finances well. We ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Denomination: Nazarene

Consequences Of Not Hearing From God Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Aug 7, 2016

We will learn from this chapter that there will be corresponding negative consequences that can happen in our lives whenever we do not hear from God. God wants us to obey His voice always.

I Samuel chapter three is about the importance of hearing the voice of God from the example of Samuel. We learned that we must be sure of hearing God's voice and not the voice of the enemy because there are many voices out there trying to get our attention. We had to reject other unfamiliar voices ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 4:1-22

Denomination: Nazarene

The Mighty Hands Of God Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Aug 14, 2016

In this message, we will learn about how to remain in the safe place always, by being engraved in the palm of His hands enjoying His care and protection rather than to fall into the hands of the living God receiving His wrath and judgment.

Today, we are going to talk about the mighty hands of God. In fact, there are approx. 122 Bible references concerning His hands. Most of these passages talk about the hand of God involved in the creation of the world. But one of my favorite verses that talks about His hand is found in Isaiah 49:16 ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 5:1-12

Denomination: Nazarene

How To Appease The Wrath Of God Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Aug 21, 2016

In this chapter, we are going to talk about how the Philistines succeeded in appeasing the wrath of an angry God in spite of the fact that they were idols worshipers.

Last week, we talked about the mighty hands of God. We said that we could either be engraved in the palm of His hands as a sign of His love and protection or fall into the hands of an angry God as a sign of judgment and punishment to sin. As much as possible, we want to be obedient to Him and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 6:1-20

Denomination: Nazarene

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Nov 14, 2016

Even though we failed in the past or made horrible mistakes, yet God will never ever forsake us. Because He loved us so much.

Each of us is facing a different kind of challenge each day. Some of you are facing some health issues. I just heard of a news regarding our close relative who has been diagnosed with cancer. She is going through rough times right now and we had to help her deal with her new challenge. Some of you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 14:1-23

Denomination: Nazarene

What We Can Learn From Children About Thanksgiving Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Dec 15, 2016

Let us be like litle children in learning the real value of thanksgiving.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM CHILDREN ABOUT THANKSGIVING Psalm 131 A song of ascents. Of David. 1 My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 131:1-3

Denomination: Nazarene

What We Can Learn From The Wise Men

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Dec 15, 2016

The wise men saw the light and followed it until they came to Jesus where they were never the same again. If we are wise, we will seek the Lord.

THE WISE WILL ALWAYS SEEK HIM INTRODUCTION: We are starting today a new series on the relevance of the Christmas story to our lives. We will start with the story of the three wise men in search for the baby Jesus in Matthew 2. Do you know that the Bible is a book filled with many examples of wisdom ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

What We Can Learn From Mary And Joseph

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Dec 22, 2016

Christrmas is the time to learn new spiritual truths particulalry from the lives of Mary and Joseph.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN THIS CHRISTMAS This is a second on the series on the Christmas message. Last week, we talked about the three wise men who traveled from a far away place in search for the baby Jesus, the King of the Jews. They just followed the star for many years with great perseverance until ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

What We Can Learn From The Shepherds This Christmas Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jan 9, 2017

These shepherds were out in th efields one night when the angel of the Lord appreared to them to announce the birth of the Savior. Let us learn from them.

We have been learning many things from the important characters of the first Christmas story. It was interesting to see how they received the news regarding the coming of Christ the Messiah in their lives. In all these things, we see the hand of God at work making sure that they understood that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: Nazarene

What We Can Learn From Simeon This Christmas Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jan 9, 2017

Simeon was a devout and righteous man who had been waiting patiently for the Messiah to come. When he saw the little boy, Jesus, he took him by his arms and blessed him.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM SIMEON We are continuing our Christmas series. We have been learning a lot of spiritual lessons from the wise men, Mary and Joseph and the shepherds. From the wise men, we learned that it is always wise to seek the Lord. From Mary, we learned that we need a Savior from our ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

Denomination: Nazarene

Why We Can Be An Optimist This 2017

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jan 9, 2017

You can look pessimistically this New Year or you can look optimistically. We must choose to be optimistic. Our outlook will determine our ultimate destiny.

WHY I AM AN OPTIMIST THIS 2017 INTRODUCTION: Happy New Year to everyone. Welcome to 2017. A bright new year is ahead of us. I wonder if you have the same feeling or outlook in this year as I do. Many years ago, former President Reagan in his news conference at the start of the new year declared to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:27, Matthew 9:2

Denomination: Nazarene

Beware Of Inconsistency Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jan 9, 2017

Inconsistency is a habit we need to break if we want to prosper this New Year.

BEWARE OF INCONSISTENCY INTRODUCTION: We will continue our series on the Book of 1 Samuel. We are now in the second half of chapter 14. We will be focusing our lessons on the inconsistencies displayed by the decisions of King Saul. His inconsistencies as the King brought about harmful consequences ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 14:24-46

Denomination: Nazarene

Palm Sunday Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Mar 20, 2016

We celebrate the Palm Sunday in order to commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the streets of Jerusalem with people welcoming Him and waving palm branches proclaiming Him as King.

Scripture reading: Matthew 21:1-11 Today is Palm Sunday. It is a Sunday that falls before Easter. We are commemorating the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. During that time, palm branches were placed in his path before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Denomination: Nazarene

Overcoming The Spirit Of Rejection Series

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Apr 4, 2016

Rejection can have a devastating effect upon the lives of people with scars that they will carry as they mature. In this message, we will learn how Jephthah overcame rejection and rose up to be the next Judge of Isarel.

Rejection means to cast aside; to throw away; to put side. It can refer to a person or a thing as if not up to some standard. When you reject a person, it shows him or her that he is unacceptable, of no value, doesn't belong, unwanted, can't fit in and unloved. Rejection communicates this message ...read more

Scripture: Judges 11:1-11

Denomination: Nazarene