Sermons on Henry Ward Beecher:

A Visit From Pilate

Contributed by David Ward on Apr 22, 2006

This is a first person narrative sermon as Pontius Pilate, with a challenge to "choose your king."

“A Visit From Pilate” John 18-19 (INTRODUCTION) Greetings, people of Living Hope Community Church in the city of Durham in the province of Northern Carolina. My name is Pilatos. You may call me—Pilatos. I despise the name “Pilate.” For one thing, I do not care for your modern-day flying air ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Under The Influence

Contributed by David Ward on Apr 1, 2010

"More filling--relate great!" When we have more filling of the Holy Spirit, we can relate great in our marriages, families, and workplaces.

INTRODUCTION: Tim Sanders—former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and author of Love Is the Killer App—shares the following thought about establishing priorities: Take your life and all the things that you think are important, and put them in one of three categories. These three ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All The Wrong Kinds Of People

Contributed by David Ward on Aug 26, 2006

Jesus calls all the wrong kinds of people to join his revolution. Apparently, the wrong kinds of people are just right for Jesus.

“All the Wrong Kinds of People” Mark 1:16-20 Mark 2:13-17 INTRODUCTION: If you were going to start a revolution, what kinds of people would you recruit? What demographic would you target? What character qualities would you look for? I suppose it might depend on what kind of revolution you were ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Games People Play: "Sorry!" Series

Contributed by David Ward on Sep 21, 2006

From a "Games People Play" series on the Sermon on the Mount, this is a message about forgiveness.

Games People Play: “Sorry!” Matthew 6:9-15 INTRODUCTION: "Sorry!" is a board game based on the ancient Indian game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Games People Play: Hungry Hungry Hippos Series

Contributed by David Ward on Sep 25, 2006

When we commit ourselves to God, He commits Himself to us.

Games People Play: “Hungry Hungry Hippos” Matthew 6:25-34 INTRODUCTION: Hungry Hungry Hippos is the game of get all you can while the getting is good. [Demonstrate game] My kids love to play Hungry Hungry Hippos; unfortunately, so do most Americans as we play for all the "marbles" we can. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Games People Play: "Trivial Pursuit" Series

Contributed by David Ward on Sep 26, 2006

BIG IDEA: Instead of pursuing the trivial, we should invest in the eternal.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: “Trivial Pursuit” Matthew 6:19-24 INTRODUCTION: Trivial Pursuit is a board game for 2-6 players or teams, in which winning is determined by your ability to answer general knowledge and pop culture trivia questions. The game was created in December 1979 by two ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Games People Play: Clue Series

Contributed by David Ward on Sep 27, 2006

Big Idea: A forgiven person is a forgiving person, but a deceiving person is a deceived person.

Games People Play: “Clue” Matthew 7:1-5, 15-23 INTRODUCTION: Doug Lansky has been a travel writer and photographer for many years. In the course of his travels he has collected photos of odd signs from around the world. Some samples: ß A white highway sign in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, says, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:19-23

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stay Awhile Series

Contributed by David Ward on Oct 31, 2015

From Paul's experience in Corinth, we find 3 keys to persevering through discouragement.

INTRO: Have you ever felt discouragement in your life as a Christ follower? If you’ve known him for any length of time, like a distance runner, I’ll bet you’ve “hit a wall” of discouragement. You think, “this is never going to work,” or “how long can ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Writing On The Wall Series

Contributed by David Ward on Mar 8, 2014

Big Idea: Our days are numbered--how much will they weigh?

“The Writing on the Wall” Daniel 5 INTRODUCTION You might not want to listen to this message today. I’m serious—you might not want to know what I’m going to tell you. You may be happier not knowing, because once you know, then you are responsible for what you know. What the Scripture has to ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 5:1-31

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Listen

Contributed by David Ward on Feb 26, 2013

An exposition of Samuel's call from God, and an exhortation to listen for God's voice

INTRODUCTION: In the early 1900s, back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No More Goodbyes

Contributed by Darryl Ward on Dec 5, 2012

Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem when he knew he was facing certain death.

One family event I will never forget is my father’s 73rd birthday. My mother, my brother, his family and I gathered round Dad, sang happy birthday and gave him a cake to cut. We did our best to make it a happy occasion for him, and I think we succeeded. Given the circumstances though, none of us ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Denomination: Anglican

The Church And Excluded Fathers

Contributed by Darryl Ward on Dec 5, 2012

A Christian response to fathers being excluded from their children’s lives.

Today is fathers’ day. While I would prefer it was celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of fathers, I am grateful Amanda and Maria are making today memorable for me. To mark fathers’ day, I will be speaking about the Church and pastoral care for men, specifically those whom I ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:23-24

Denomination: Anglican

The Day Of The Lord

Contributed by Darryl Ward on Dec 5, 2012

Sermon about the Second Coming and popular misconceptions about what this means.

When I was in my early teens, I went to a film evening put on by our local branch of Youth for Christ and watched A Thief in the Night and A Distant Thunder. These were the first two of a series of ‘end times’ films that dealt with the second coming of the Christ, the rapture and the great ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:24-37

Denomination: Anglican

Stop The Senseless Killings

Contributed by Darryl Ward on Dec 5, 2012

Sermon about alcohol fuelled killings of youth in Kapiti.

Like the rest of our community, I was shocked by the recent violent deaths near local popular drinking spots of two of our young citizens: Izak Millanta and Sean Strongman-Lintern. As well as mourning its loss, our community is, quite rightly, asking questions. Asking what caused these tragedies. ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Unquenchable Series

Contributed by David Ward on Jun 22, 2016

Big Idea: God don't want no worthless worship, so let's make our worship worth His while. Points: Worship is worthless to God when it isn't reverent, repentant, or real.

INTRODUCTION: Comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who died in 2004 at the age of 82, made a living making fun of himself and the difficulty of getting what we all desire: a little respect, please. Some of his best lines: • "I tell ya I get no respect from anyone. I bought a cemetery plot. The guy ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 1:6-14

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational