Sermons on divine living:

Lost In Wonder, Love, And Praise

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 26, 2008

We have a tendency to get lost in activities, especially church activities. The church that is worthy of getting lost in focuses on Christ, serves people, and calls for specific new commitments.

The other night I caught a TV show that featured people showing off the peculiar talents of their pets. One man brought a tiny little dog and proceeded to wind up its tail, sort of cranking the tail, much as you used to have to wind up a mechanical toy. Then he let go and the poor puppy ran round ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Financial Sacrifice Series

Contributed by David Welch on Dec 29, 2008

First of three messages on giving out flowing our of a broader teaching on sacrifice.

“Financial Sacrifice” Every Christian serious about a deeper walk with God and greater impact in our world must incorporate spiritual exercises as a way of life. I.What is sacrifice? Sacrifice is a willingness and sometimes even eagerness to give up something valuable for something or someone we ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Struggling Even When The Good Times Roll Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 21, 2009

July 1989: When we are prospering, we are tempted into the idolatry of me-ism and self-congratulation. This is an opportunity to do more for others and for the Kingdom, for God is the source of our bounty.

About a year ago, toward the end of July, I placed one of these up here on the pulpit as the visible sermon for the day. Remember? Do you recall what we called that Sunday? Right: we called it "catch-up Sunday" …catch-up Sunday … and the idea was that if we were behind in our giving, if we as a ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 14:4-8

Denomination: Baptist

A Messiah Of Faith Series

Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Sep 23, 2009

If we want to be people of faith we need to put our faith to work.

A Messiah of Faith Text: Matt. 8:1-17 Introduction 1. Illustration: One night, I had a wondrous dream; One set of footprints there was seen. The footprints of my precious Lord, But mine were not along the shore. But then some stranger prints appeared, And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?" ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:1-17

Denomination: Methodist

True Repentance

Contributed by Denise Raterta on Oct 14, 2009

Backsliding itself is of course horrendous. But it gets doubly shameful and we’ll end up dishonoring God even more when we repent without fully knowing exactly how we have offended God.

Seeing and hearing the reactions of different people in the midst of the recent calamities in the world, I find myself grieving because most of us, even the supposedly veteran believers, do not fully understand and recognize God’s clear message behind the events. We just hear and do what we like to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24

Denomination: *other

Admonish One Another Series

Contributed by David Owens on Oct 19, 2009

There is a need for us to learn to offer admonition and for us to learn to receive it. This sermon attempts to teach us how to do both.

Introduction: A. One day a man was seated at a table of an upscale restaurant. 1. The man proceeded to tie a napkin around his neck like a bib. 2. The maître d´ called the waiter aside and said, “Try to make that man understand, as tactfully as possible, that the way he is wearing his napkin is ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:15-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Earthen Vessel, Feet Of Clay

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 29, 2009

Ordination of Troy L. Dixon, Nov. 1989: We pursue the trappings of religion instead of what is truly value. As a common clay vessel, be wary of power games, know that your foundation can crumble, focus on the treasure of the Gospel.

Somehow in men’s minds the paraphernalia of religion get to be more important than the faith itself. It is one of the enduring problems of religious life, how it is that we get far more caught up and invested in the trappings of religion than in the faith itself. In your average church, you ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18

Denomination: Baptist

Come To The Table

Contributed by Denn Guptill on Nov 1, 2009

The accounts of the last supper sound more like the last snack. This message looks at what all happened that night.

Do you ever feel that you’ve only heard half the story? It’s kind of frustrating isn’t it? You wonder what else might have gone on and what you’ve missed. That’s what happens when we read the accounts of the Last Supper, it doesn’t matter if it’s one of the accounts in one of the four gospels or ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:20-30

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Fisherman's Call Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 19, 2009

What is the call of Christ? Is it a mysterious thing that only happens to select people? Is it something you have to work hard to get and discover? We will discover the answers to these questions and more in today’s message titled, “A Fisherman’s Call.

http://brushforkbanner.blogspot.com MATTHEW 4:18-20 Just a word of background on our passage this morning. Jesus hadn’t been long into His public ministry. According to the Gospel of Matthew, we know that Jesus had already been baptized by John the Baptist. After that, Jesus was led away by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:18-20

Denomination: Baptist

God And Hurting Persons

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 21, 2009

God has always expressed care for those who hurt; it’s nothing new. But Jesus extended that care to those not like His listeners, and His church is intended to reach the marginal.

This week, while the rest of you were surfing the Internet reading Ken Starr’s report, I was reading my favorite form of literature. I was reading "church bulletin bloopers." Church bulletin bloopers are those funny little errors that creep into church bulletins, maybe because the typist didn’t ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:14-30

Denomination: Baptist

Paternal Pleas To Posterity

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 21, 2009

Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, DC: We will never achieve maturity until we come to terms with our paternity and accept our posterity. Understand that those who shaped us were also maturing; the transforming power of Christ will open wide our hearts.

All of us aspire to maturity. All of us hope to become mature and complete, grown up in every way, accomplished, respected, and honored. It’s a worthy goal. It’s a proper ambition. But we will never achieve maturity until we come to terms with both our paternity and our posterity. Our ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

All In Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Jul 6, 2009

If we want to do God’s work in God’s way, we won’t have any parade leaders. We will only have real, committed leaders who are burdened by God, are committed to the Great Commission and are not distracted by discouragement or opposition. We will only have

http://brushforkbanner.blogspot.com/ Leadership is a tricky thing, isn’t it? Leadership is one of those things that is hard to define and quantify. Sometimes good leadership isn’t recognized when it is present, but it sure is easy to see when it’s not there. One thing about leadership—we all ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:14-19

Denomination: Baptist

Fasting Is Not For Super-Saints Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jul 6, 2009

This message examines the 40 times fasting is found in the Bible and discovers that fasting is not for the super spiritual, but for the super-sorrowful, most often because they realize they are super-sinners.

Fasting Is Not for Super-Saints One day, Kathy Cash’s husband, of Dallas, Texas, announced to the family that he was going to fast and pray. Ginny, their 5-year-old, had recently learned that fasting meant not eating. “No!” she shouted. “You can’t fast! You’ll die!” Her dad carefully ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:14-17

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Gideon - The Calling Series

Contributed by Don Jones on Jan 10, 2009

Gideon was a man who doubted and questioned the LORD when he called. The LORD answers and Gideon the "mighty warrior" surrenders.

Gideon - Are You There? Judges 6:11-24 Introduction The New Year is here. We do not know what the future will hold but so far it looks like the year will be filled with turmoil. Unemployment is high and will probably go up, credit card debt is out of control, people are loosing their homes, ...read more

Scripture: Judges 6:11-24

Denomination: Baptist

Kingdom Call

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jan 19, 2009

An introduction to the Kingdom parables of Matthew 13.

Walking in the Reign: A Study of the Kingdom of God Introduction – January 18, 2008 Introduction: Begin a new series on the Kingdom of God, called Walking in the Reign The kingdom is a dominant theme in the Bible from the Old Testament through Jesus’ preaching and in to the rest of the NT OT – ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ