Sermons on Garbage:

A Prevailing Church: Binding Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Apr 21, 2002

The guesses of the people about Jesus’ identity give us clues about their perception of His character. Jesus used their grasp of His similarity to John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah to focus on the authority to bind and loose. They, and He, bound rel

Have you ever needed to find out what somebody else really thought of you? Do you know what it is like to ask someone what their opinion is of you – and then you wait for what seems like an eternity for the answer, and when it comes, you are still not sure if it is good or bad? Do you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

Denomination: Baptist

It's In Your Blood

Contributed by Joel Pankow on May 1, 2002

All that a Christian is and does is due to the fact that the Holy Spirit brings him to faith and works in him.

May 5, 2002 John 14:15-21 It’s In Your Blood “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-21

Denomination: Lutheran

You Were Shaped For God's Service Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 6, 2003

Part of a series on Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life. Worship without service is idolatry; fellowship without service is self-indulgence; discipleship without service is perfectionism. Pay the price of service.

Not long ago an insurance salesman called, wanting to sell me long-term care insurance. I was tempted to tell him I had an unbeatable plan for long-term care, called heaven, but I didn’t. Not this time, anyway, because some aches and pains we had been feeling did remind us that we might actually ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Crucial Questions Of Christ

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 11, 2003

how Christ asked questions to separate the wheat from the chaff and give his disciples an opportunity to reevaluate their dedication to Christ

September 14, 2003 John 6:60-69 After David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, God confronted David through the prophet Nathan. Nathan said to David, because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” (2 Sa 12:14) Shortly ...read more

Scripture: John 6:60-69

Denomination: Lutheran

You Were Made For A Mission Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 13, 2003

One in a series on Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life book. Our mission is to drive with others toward a destination. But between invitation and destination there is hesitation, born of diversion, dissension, and dissipation.

People who are on a mission move; people who are on a mission let nothing stop them. They are not distracted by side issues, they focus all their energies on getting their mission accomplished. People who are on a mission do whatever it takes to get to their goal. But people who are not on a ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 22:16-21

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Crushes And Cures Your Quest For Cleanliness

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 18, 2003

by not washing his hands Jesus teaches a lesson in righteousness

September 21, 2003 Mark 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Denomination: Lutheran

Jesus Partying Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 24, 2002

We have taken our cues about how to have fun from the wrong places. When Jesus parties, he includes rather than excludes the misfits; he goes not to participate nor to criticize, but to listen and redeem; and when you party with Jesus, you have joy and z

Suppose you gave a party and Jesus showed up! What would that do to your party? He wasn’t on the invitation list, He didn’t RSVP, but here He comes, making a beeline straight at you, with arms outstretched in greeting, and about twelve of his best buds looking eagerly at the buffet table. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-38

Denomination: Baptist

Who's Job Is It Anyway Series

Contributed by Paul Durbin on Feb 16, 2003

We cooperate with God in the process of our personal sanctification

Whose Job is it Anyway? I. Psychologists say one of the primary causes of conflict in households involves dispute over what’s generally called division of labor. A. diapers. You’ve been there . . . 1. We’ve been dealing with now for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Philippians 2:1-13

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Life That's Focused

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Mar 12, 2003

Focus on God’s joy goes a long way in our troubled times.

A life that’s focused Phil.3:1-16 1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:1-14

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Joys False Or Complete Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 10, 2004

For Epiphany: As Richard Foster wrote about "Money, Sex, and Power", is it possible the Wise Men’s gifts are warnings to Jesus and His family about these things? Complete joy comes from what Jesus did with these issues.

Who we are and what we have are two entirely different things, but we confuse them. We insist on identifying who we are by what we have. Who we are and what we have are not the same thing. We are more by far than the material goods we possess. And yet everywhere we are identified by our stuff. ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 2:11-12

Denomination: Baptist

A Fresh Touch From God Series

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Jan 27, 2004

The Christmas Touch - part 3 Lessons learned from the shepherds.

Advent: This morning our journey to Bethlehem continues. The season surrounds us and the pace quickens as we count down the final days to Christmas. Amidst the hustle and bustle we sometimes suffer from tunnel vision. We’ll wake up one day and realize Christmas has come and gone and we missed what ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Denomination: Assembly Of God

That's When You Need Him Most

Contributed by C. Scott Ghan on Oct 18, 2000

TEXT: John 6:66-69 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

TEXT: John 6:66-69 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. {67} "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. {68} Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. {69} We believe and know that you are ...read more

Scripture: John 6:66-69

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Remembering People (Memorial Day)

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on Oct 18, 2000

Memorial Day is about remembering people.

INTRO.- ILL.- A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the load of an 8-point buck which he was carrying. "Where’s Harry?" He was asked. "Harry had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:3-5

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Party's Over!

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on Jan 5, 2002

When the party is over, the work begins!

THE PARTY’S OVER! INTRO.- What party? It might have been that New Year’s eve party. Did you have one? If so, what did you do? Eat food? Play games? Watch TV? Watch some movies? Laugh? Talk? Enjoy one another’s company? I hope that whatever you did, you enjoyed yourself. God does provides us ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Tackling Temptation Series

Contributed by Aaron Burgess on Jan 7, 2002

In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us some steps we can take to root out sin in our life

Tackling Temptation Matthew 5:27-30 Thomas Costain’s history, The Three Edwards, describes the life of Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means "fat." After a violent quarrel, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30

Denomination: Independent/Bible