Sermons on Fuller:

Who's Using You?

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 13, 2011

How do respond when someone hurts you? Is it with veiled hatred and open contempt? The Apostle Paul had to deal with just such a situation and how he handled it can help us to deal with pain in a godly way.

Sometimes the right thing to do is confront bad behavior or attitudes. As a leader there have been times when I have had to call someone on the carpet. It’s never easy and too often that person does not receive the exhortation or even rebuke well. As a leader, my job is to protect and nurture ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-17

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Leaning Against Legalism

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 20, 2011

We often measure our success by how closely we stick to a set of expectations - whether on the job, at home, or in our walk with the Lord. We do good, we feel good - we do bad, we feel bad. But measuring success is really much different in a relationship

When you apply for a job you supply your resume—it’s that collection of information that tells why you are qualified for a particular position. Until not too long ago, a very important thing to have when going to a new area was a letter of recommendation. We still use them occasionally. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Super Cool Or Super Real?

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 27, 2011

Are you real? That might seem like an obvious question but consider the lengths you go to in order to present yourself as "all together" to your friends and brothers and sisters. Being impressive by appearance can actually impede both your growth in the L

We talk a lot about natural human behavior and how that often runs counter to the real life given to us in Jesus Christ. Today I want to talk about your image. In our natural state we try really hard to present a good image to the world. We try to clean up, dress well, and act civilly. Beyond that, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

The Coming Evaluation

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jul 5, 2011

One of the worst pieces of mail you can receive comes with three little letters in the return address: IRS. Getting audited is like going to the dentist without the novocaine. As troubling as it may seem, an even more important audit is coming for all of

In the first part of Chapter 5 I have some good news and some not so good news depending on how you look at it. The good news is that you’re due for an upgrade. The bad news: you’re being audited. First, the upgrade. We talked last time about the fact that to God we are ordinary clay ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-11

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Jesus Became Sin For You

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jul 12, 2011

Just how did Jesus pay for your sins? To understand this will give you a new appreciation for just how bad evil is, how good God is, and the value of what Jesus did for you on the cross and bears for you each and every day. It also makes our job descripti

A few weeks ago we talked about the masks we as Christians put on that sometimes hides our true selves from one another. But those who do not know Christ also put on masks—to hide themselves from an awful reality that they don’t want to face—that we as humans are evil at the core. We distract ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Salty Christians Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on May 7, 2012

What influences you and what kind of influence are you on others? In the final portion of Mark Chapter 9, Jesus describes a common substance: salt. It is either salty or flavorless. When it comes to you affect on your environment are you salt or unsalt?

Leading up to this portion of Mark 9, Jesus has taken a young child and put them into his arms. Somehow I picture him placing the child in front of Him and wrapping his arms around their front. The disciples can see both the child and the Messiah standing together. That stance of loving protection ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:38-50

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Soft Heart - Hard Heart Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on May 14, 2012

As humans we naturally try to do what is in our own best self interest. This doesn't always coincide with the character of God. Such is the case with divorce. Jesus shocks His men and the Pharisees with a refreshing look at relationships. As we look at th

In one of the rides at Disneyland, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, there is a holding room that resembles an archeological dig deep under a Southeast Asian jungle. A covered well sits in the center of the room with a rope extending down into the well. A sign clearly says “do not pull ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:1-16

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Who Owns You? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on May 21, 2012

Our idea about success involves three things - all of which were possessed by a man who approaches Jesus. What is he looking for and why? The answers should affect your outlook on this life and the one to come.

As human beings there are four main things we rely on for security: money, control, intellectual power, and our abilities—including the ability to be good. But these four things also work to keep us away from real security. Today we delve into the story of a young man who had it all, but ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Trotting In To Save The Day Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 4, 2012

What image comes to mind when you think about a hero riding in to save the day? Jesus, our ultimate action hero, rides into Jerusalem to save the day for humanity, but not in the way you would imagine, not this time anyway.

When you picture the hero coming in to save the day you probably think of a tall guy in a tall hat riding in on tall white horse with a couple of shotguns off of his saddle and two in his hands. Well, our ultimate action hero, Jesus, rides into Jerusalem all right—but on a tall white horse? ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:1-24

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Ganging Up On Jesus Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 11, 2012

In this portion of Mark we get a clearer picture of what it means to rely on God for things, and what it means to rely on the government. Here the religious leaders try to trip Jesus up, but they fall right into His trap.

After the episode in the Temple on the previous day, I guess Jesus should have expected the religious leaders of Israel to react. In fact, the Lord is trying to get them to react and eventually figure out a way to arrest and condemn Him. In the end of Chapter 11 and into Chapter 12 we see a series ...read more

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Who Is God And How Can You Get To Know Him? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 18, 2012

Jesus had to answer some very complicated questions designed to trap Him. But being the master chess player, Jesus turned the traps into times of teaching and revealing much about His true identity.

Jesus is in the middle of debating the religious leaders who have come to challenge Him after He cleared the Temple. Last time they demanded that He prove His authority (He wouldn’t because they wouldn’t admit where John the Baptist got his authority) and then they tried to trap Him ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:18-37

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Learning To Love God Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 25, 2012

What is the most important thing in the universe? The answer might surprise you but goes right to the heart of both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus reveals it to us in Mark 12 as we go in depth into loving God.

During the course of a heated debate between Jesus and the religious leaders, something happens that is like an oasis in the midst of the desert. A scribe approaches the group as the Sadducees are trying to trip Jesus up with some theological argument coming out of their misinterpretation of the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-31

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Radical Trust Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jul 2, 2012

Mark wrote nothing by accident in his gospel. Just prior to the arrest of Jesus, he presents a stark contrast between those who think they have it all and those who have nothing. Which group is which? The answer may surprise you.

As we begin this portion of Mark 12, Jesus has just finished his series of debates with the religious leaders. They’re done, but Jesus isn’t. He came to Jerusalem to first proclaim His hostile takeover—retaking for God the thing man had conformed to his own image. He proclaimed ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:38-44

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Looking To The End Times Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jul 9, 2012

There is a lot of excitement generated in the Christian community around the return of Jesus. Jesus' men were excited too, but what Jesus tells them is not a timeline or series of events, but how they should act while waiting. It's good advise for us too

There’s one thing that is pretty clear—no one understood Jesus’ mission as the ultimate action hero. The people that followed Him closely were starting to get that He was the Messiah—but what did that mean? As I’ve mentioned several times in our journey through Mark, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:1-23

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Don't Worship Your Pastor Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Sep 20, 2010

You might never think of yourself as worshiping your pastor. But that's just what has happening in Corinth and it happens in churches all over the world to this day. What are the dangers, how to spot it, and how to avoid it are the subject of part two in

It had been only 18 months since Paul left his newly formed church at Corinth. A trusted family had filled him in on what had happened to this fledgling body: fights, divisions, class envy, a return to paganism, and out and out sin. I picture Paul pulling his hair out and tearing his clothes as he ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Denomination: Calvary Chapel