Sermons on Dodge Ball:

Going Fishing

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Feb 8, 2006

We can fish for fun, or we can fish for dinner. When we fish for dinner, we take it much more seriously and consequently have much better results.

What would you say is the one thing that hurts our society more than anything else? I would say it is us; the people. We are seeing more and more violence in the streets of America, and we are building more and more jails to put the criminals in, but the violence just keeps growing. And to make ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Denomination: *other

Who Do You Think You Are?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Feb 21, 2006

(Morning Service) Many don’t realize who they are. We are children of God, through Jesus Christ - and we must act like a family who loves one another. (Bulletin insert at bottom)

A woman was working in her front yard one day planting new bushes and flowers. She was dressed in her work clothes and had dirt all over her hands. She looked up and saw a moving van pulling into the driveway next door. Behind the van was a car and a nice looking family got out of the car. The ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:8-16

Denomination: *other

The Ultimate Love Of God

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Feb 28, 2006

(Morning Service) A sermon about God’s love for us and how that love actually gives us the faith to love Him and be obedient to Him. (Bulletin insert included)

There is the story of a man who told his wife that he loved her more than anything else in the world, and he wanted to have a candlelight dinner with her. He said for her to hurry up and fix dinner and he would rush home just as soon as the poker game was over. There are many types of love, but ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-5

Denomination: *other

The King Herod Within Us

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Dec 1, 2005

A sermon that shows all of us have a little King Herod in us, but Christ brings a sword to put that nature to death so a new nature can rise up.

To many of us, we are the center of our own universe, aren’t we? To many of us, we are the only one who counts. And, too many of us think that God is our co-pilot. Let me start by saying that if God is your co-pilot, you had better change places with Him as quickly as you can. In MATTHEW ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:34-35

Denomination: *other

For The Love Of Christ

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Dec 7, 2005

A sermon that reminds us to keep our focus on the destination: The eternal life in worshiping the Lord in Heaven.

We have all heard that Jesus is coming back. That should be the best news we will ever hear, but for many Christians, it is just a story. A story from a book that is more like fantasy than reality. A story they hear, but do not really believe. And because they do not believe it, they have missed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:42-51

Denomination: *other

The Coming Judgment

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Dec 16, 2005

Even at Christmas, we must remember that the coming judgment will deal with how we live our lives today.

The skit that the youth ministry put on was superb! And the subject matter was very appropriate for Christians; "Judgment". This is the Christmas season, and I know it is traditional to only preach on the birth of Christ, but we must still remember something very important. The things that apply ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-33

Denomination: *other

The Amazing Grace Of Jesus

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Dec 16, 2005

The absolutely amazing thing God did for us all because He loved us.

1 TIMOTHY 1:15-17 tells us – ‘This is a true saying and everyone should believe it; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and I was the worst of them all. But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:15-17

Denomination: *other

The Complacency Of The Manger

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Dec 16, 2005

We can get complacent when driving the same route every day and become oblivious to the dangers - and Christians can become so used to the manger we get complacent with the meaning of it.

I heard the story once of a great Cherokee wood carver. He took logs and sat them on a stump outside his back door and sat in front of that log sometimes for hours just staring at it. Finally, he would pick up his carving tools and start carving the most beautiful of things out of the wood. He ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 4:4-5

Denomination: *other

Psalm 100

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 14, 2005

What if God treated us the way we treat Him? Inspired by Melvin Newland.

One of the most beautiful Psalms of thanksgiving is the 100th PSALM. Listen to the words as I read it. ‘Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know the Lord is god. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 100:1-5

Denomination: *other

I Could Be Thankful - 'if ...'

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 16, 2005

A 2-step formula to help us realize an attitude of gratitude.

The Pilgrims didn’t have too much of anything, did they? They had no transportation, they had no indoor plumbing, and they didn’t even have nice homes. Yet they saw reasons to give thanks to God for the many blessings they did have. What were some of the blessings He gave to the Pilgrims? ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 145:3-20

Denomination: *other

Mary, Did You Know?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 22, 2005

This sermon deals with what Mary may not have understood about the birth of Christ. This sermon also begins our Christmas season.

The Christmas story is well known to almost everybody in America, whether they claim to be Christian, atheist, or of some other belief. There was a woman named Mary who became pregnant, without the assistance of a human man, and she gave birth to a baby whom she named Jesus. And the story is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:30-37

Denomination: *other

The Biggest Blessing Of All

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 30, 2005

A sermon about the blessing of Christ - to go along with our Bethlehem Candle Service- 2nd week of Advent.

Every year in Mesa, Arizona, the Mormon Temple puts on their Christmas display. It is a fantastic sight to see! There must be millions of lights, and the sight of those displays is truly awesome. If you want to go see them, you will spend at least a half hour looking for a place to park, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Denomination: *other

Church - Vision Or Memories?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 1, 2006

To keep impacting those outside the church for Jesus, we must keep the vision we were given, and not replace that vision with the memories of yesterday. Nor can we replace our calling with our comfort.

I know that many of us are planning on helping out at the Leukemia Benefit right after church for 3-year old Christian Bentley, so I am going to offer a shorter message this morning so we can get up there on time. There are some who might not understand why we cut our sermons a little short for ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-18

Denomination: *other

Elders - Responsibility, Not Power

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 6, 2006

This is a short ordination sermon used to install a man into the office of elder. It precedes C.L.A.S.S. 101.

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you.” Did you know that we all have gifts? In the last two weeks, I have touched upon the parable of the wealthy landowner who gave his three servants talents before he left for a long trip. When he came back, he found that two ...read more

Denomination: *other

Why A New Church?

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Oct 20, 2006

A message explaining why we decided to plant a church. This can be adapted to show why we need to change formats, names, etc.

An old fisherman used to amaze all the locals with how many fish he was able to catch. It didn’t matter what the weather was like, or how much other fishermen were able to catch, he always caught more than anyone else. The stories became legend, and soon reached the local game warden. He showed ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:20-21

Denomination: *other