Sermons on Focused Faith:

Even Stephen Series

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jul 23, 2009

Is it Jesus and something else, or is it Jesus alone? Stephen realizes that we do not need the Temple Sacrifice and Jesus, we need Jesus alone.

Stephen is a distinguished member of the community, a man who lives like righteous Jewish men have lived over millennium: Stephen knows his Scripture, Stephen worships God alone, and Stephen attends Synagogue and Stephen obeys the law of Moses. Stephen is just like many righteous Jewish men who ...read more

Scripture: Acts 6:1-15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Getting It Wrong Series

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Jul 29, 2009

This passage is hard on the disciples, no getting around it. They fail, repeatedly. But when I step back and look at me, and at today’s church, I refuse to condemn the disciples because I see these very same failures in me and in today’s church. We’ve

Getting it Wrong: Breaking Boundaries Luke 9:37-50 May 17, 2009 Intro: What we usually do when we study Scripture is good – we break it down into smaller pieces so we can really get into the stories and try to understand them, see Jesus in them, and reflect on what they mean for who we are and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:37-50

Denomination: Baptist

The Zoad In The Road Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 2, 2009

Have you come to a "Cross" road in your life? Have you decided to make a decision to take up your cross and follow Jesus? Not to decide is to decide. Which path will you choose?

OPEN: This begins a series which we’re calling "Dr. Seuss and God". Dr. Seuss (actually Theodor Seuss Geisel) dedicated himself to writing simple, entertaining and thoughtful poems that used basic words children would understand. But every once in a while, Dr. Seuss would introduce what some people ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:16, Jeremiah 6:6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jesus Washes The Disciples' Feet Series

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Aug 3, 2009

This parable in action sets forth the principle of lowly service and asks the followers of Jesus to be like Him, not like the world.

JOHN 13: 1-11 JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES’ FEET [Luke 22:24-27] In the earlier chapters Jesus had given His ministry to the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. In chapters 13 and following Jesus turns from an unbelieving world to minister the Father’s love to His inner circle of disciples. He ...read more

Scripture: John 13:1-11, John 13:6-11

Denomination: Baptist

Faced With The Impossible, Entrust It To Jesus -- John 6:1-15

Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Aug 9, 2009

How often life can seem impossible! What hardships we face! What good comes from it? Let’s see, as Jesus tells his disciples to do the impossible: Feed 5000+ people. Parts: A. He places the impossible in front of us. B. He works it out his way, not ours.

Text: John 6:1-15 Theme: Faced with the Impossible, Entrust It to Jesus A. He places the impossible in front of us B. He works it out his way, not mine Season: Pentecost 10b Date: August 9, 2009 Web page: ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-16

Denomination: Lutheran

Have You Tasted My Jesus? Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 17, 2009

"Green Eggs and Ham" may be a Children’s book, but it’s main character has a lot to say about effective witnessing for Christ.

OPEN: Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham is a long repetitious children’s poem that ends this way: For about the 20th time Sam-I-Am asks: “You do not like green eggs and ham?” To which his friend replies: “I do not like them, Sam-I-am.” Sam-I-am: “Could you, would you, with a goat?" Friend: “I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Flesh And Spirit: Love And Joy Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 22, 2009

We cannot manufacture joy by trying to be good, nor can we survive game-playing. Joy comes from knowing that without Christ we would not be good at all, but that in Him we are freed from guilt.

The happiest people I know are not necessarily the most moral people I know. And the most unhappy people I know are among the most moral people I know. I’ll bet you didn’t follow that. Let me try again. The happiest people I know are not necessarily the most moral people I know. And the most ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-25

Denomination: Baptist

A Command For The Compulsive

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 27, 2009

Sabbath rest addresses our compulsive need to be busy by giving us a day for authentic enjoyment, by providing a vivid contrast with other days, and by giving us a glimpse of eternal rest.

God rested. Well, why not? After all, He had had a busy week, almost as busy as ours! Some of us have had weeks like that, when we’ve had to build the moon and the stars, separate the waters from the dry land, and bring forth swarms of living creatures, all in one week. Every parent knows what ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11

Denomination: Baptist

Walking In Wisdom Series

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Jun 4, 2008

The reason for this is that God is more interested in developing wisdom through your character than making sure life is comfortable for you. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy

OPENER: Who Want’s To Be A Millionaire Trivia Game (available on powerpoint by request) Fitting into Your World: Congratulations on your physical prowess in dealing with everyday obstacles. For instance— You probably navigated stairs expertly by shortening their strides and lowering their ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Curse Of The Mummy Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jun 9, 2008

Who could the Pharaohs (mentioned in Exodus) have been, and what can we learn from the curse associated with their reign?

OPEN: A few months ago I was reading an article about King Tut (his full name was Tutankhamun). The ancient Egyptian pharaoh, and artifacts from his tomb, were making a tour and would be stopping in at Chicago to be displayed at one of the museums there. As I read the article I became intrigued ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 1:6-22

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fellowship Comes With Benefits Series

Contributed by Brien Sims on Jun 18, 2008

Knowing that God cares about you to hear your prayers and answers them.

Have you ever wondered if God hears you? Seriously, when something incredibly important is on the line, like the life of someone you love dearly, we always hope God hears our prayers and will answer them the way we want them answered. We hope God can hear our prayers for help with sins that we ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:13-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Passing The Torch Series

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jun 24, 2008

Sermon #1 of the series deals with passing the torch from Ezra to Nehemiah, giving advice to those passing the torch and those taking it up.

#1 in the Nehemiah series: Nehemiah Chapters 1-2 "Passing the Torch" Castle Hills Christian Church: May 4, 2008 INTRODUCTION: The picture on the screen shows the Olympic Torch being carried in Europe on its way to China. (The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Show Me The Joy! Series

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jun 25, 2008

Sermon #4 in the Nehemiah series from chapters 8-9 focus on how responding properly to the word of God brings us great joy.

#4 in the Nehemiah series: Nehemiah chapters 8-9 Show me the JOY! CHCC: May 25, 2008 INTRODUCTION: Nehemiah is not the best known book of the Bible by any means. One of the reasons we’re studying it right now is that it’s one of the parts of the Bible I never preached from in the 36 years ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Managing Anger God's Way Pt 2 Series

Contributed by David Welch on Jun 30, 2008

Second in a four part series on managing anger.

“Managing Anger God’s Way” Pt 2 REVIEW Ephesians 4 tells us to be angry and let anger be put away from us. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil a place. Ephesians 4:26-27 Which is it? We learned last week that the state of our heart ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-32

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Refined By God

Contributed by Brien Sims on Jul 7, 2008

You can meet your full potential in Christ but you will have to go through some purification to become what He wants you to be.

How would you like to reach your full potential? Plenty of people, gurus, companies, books, and even our own military want to help you with that. The Army’s motto says exactly that, “Be all you can be in the Army.” How often do you look in the mirror and wish something would change in your life? ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:1-7

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ