Sermons on Focused Faith:

Gideon - An Unexpected Hero Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Jan 23, 2001

Gideon wasn’t a natural hero, but God used him to save his people. God often uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things

Gideon isn’t exactly your Hollywood image of a hero is he? In fact he’s the exact opposite. He’s much more the indecisive, timid type. He’s one of those people who want every i dotted and every t crossed before they make a decision and even then they won’t be able to make up their mind. You can see ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Easter - They Didn't Understand

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 24, 2001

In amazement, we wonder, "What's the matter with them? Were they hard of hearing? Why didn't they get the message? Why didn't they understand?" I think there are several answers to that question.

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (Revised: 2015) A. The ability to make intelligent & correct decisions is one of the great secrets of successful Christian living. ILL. Even if you aren't a sports fan I think you'll appreciate this story about a college ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:31-34, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, Luke 18:9-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Palm Sunday - Jesus Was Weeping!

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 31, 2001

I wonder, is Jesus still weeping today? When He turns & looks into our lives, I wonder, will He weep once again because of what He sees?

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (REVISED - 2019) TEXT: Luke 19:28?44 I wish simply to remind you this morning of a familiar Bible event. It began early Sunday morning (Palm Sunday, we call it today) as Jesus was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:28-44, Luke 19:28

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Value Of Participation Series

Contributed by Scott Hippler on Feb 5, 2001

2/5 Who did God use to assist Nehemiah, He used everybody!

Who does God use to accomplish His will here on earth? Who does God use to do His will, to impact others and to participate in the tough tasks of life? There is a real simple answer, He uses everyone! He uses everyone! And since God uses everyone, which includes using you, using you and using ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 3:1-32

Denomination: Baptist

Pressures Need Not Defeat Us.

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Feb 7, 2001

Thanks to the power of the resurrection, we do not have to be overwhelmed by the pressures around us.

Pressures Need Not Defeat Us Easter Psalm 73:1-28 Matthew 27:62-- 28:20 Is pressure something good or something bad. Too little pressure and you can be stuck on the freeway going nowhere because of four flat tires. Too much pressure and you can go flying off the freeway out of control ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Year Of The Lord’s Favor

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 14, 2001

As we look at the life of Jesus we see that same thing happening over & over again. So consistently does it happen that we begin to wonder, "What is God trying to tell us?"

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK A. This is the first Sunday, the first day of a brand new year. I think that an appropriate scripture this morning would be Isaiah 61:1 3. In many of your bibles it is sub titled, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Matthew 2:1-11

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Purge Out The Old Leaven Series

Contributed by Dennis Lawrence on Mar 16, 2001

All behaviours are not acceptable in the Church.

Get Rid of the Leaven! March 17, 2001 The Globe and Mail has been running some rather controversial and attention grabbing advertisements of late. In one that I hear on the radio, the idea is that a CEO is promoting someone to a vice-presidency, I believe, and states: “Jones is over 6 feet tall, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Read It For Yourself

Contributed by Shelly Griffin on Mar 22, 2001

Don’t believe anything just because somebody else told you to.

Imagine being out in the woods, hiking, camping, working. When all of a sudden you feel a sharp pain in your leg. You look down and see two small holes in your skin and this long, legless creature slithering away through the grass. Well, being a fairly intelligent person, you’d probably come ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:17-18

Denomination: *other

Why I Prefer Expository Preaching

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Mar 22, 2001

A plea for expository preaching.

Why I Prefer Expository Preaching To say that there is a great division in the church today over styles of preaching may be somewhat of an understatement. Among Fundamentalists, there is almost an all out war. The battle tends to lie mainly in the heat of the emotions rather than facts. ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 8:7-8

Denomination: Baptist

Seeking God Through Obedience Series

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Mar 28, 2001

We come to know God by obeying Him.

I’d like to begin by telling you a little story about something that happened to me this week. I took the minivan in for an oil change at the Chrysler dealer. I was sitting in the waiting room, which was empty except for me and one other man. I was a little bored, so I struck up a conversation. And ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-24, 1 John 2:3-4

Denomination: Baptist

A Call To Commitment Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Oct 18, 2000

The success of God’s work depends on the willingness of his people to play their part.

It’s appropriate to ask, on the day of our AGM, how committed are you to the work of God here at St Theodore’s? It’s a question that we all need to consider as we come to look at Haggai ch 1. If you’ve been here over the last month or so, you’ll know that we’ve been working our way through ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:1

Denomination: Anglican

A Call To Commitment

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Oct 18, 2000

Our priority must be to put God first, and if we do, then he’ll look after us.

It’s appropriate to ask, on the day of our AGM, how committed are you to the work of God here at St Theodore’s? It’s a question that we all need to consider as we come to look at Haggai ch 1. If you’ve been here over the last month or so, you’ll know that we’ve been working our way through ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:1-15

Denomination: Anglican

Is It Really The Lord's Will?

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Oct 18, 2000

On 9/11/01 I overheard several people who assigned the attack on America as being the will of God. Are such events really the Lord’s will?

IS IT REALLY THE LORD’S WILL? A. Matthew 18:7-14 (READ and COMMENT) 1. This text talks about HUMAN DECISIONS, TROUBLE in the world, and concludes it by discussing what is or what is not the WILL of God. COMMENT: We use the phrase, "This is the WILL of God" quite regularly. We consign the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:7-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Melchizedek Priesthood

Contributed by John Stevenson on Oct 18, 2000

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tenth ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 7:1-28

Prized Possessions

Contributed by John Stevenson on Oct 18, 2000

It was in the spring of 1844 when the young German scholar made a most remarkable discovery.

It was in the spring of 1844 when the young German scholar made a most remarkable discovery. His name was Konstanin Von Tischendorf and he had been traveling through the Middle East. He came one night to an old Greek Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. Knocking upon the door, he was ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:7-14