Sermons on Hope In Despair:

How We Know What Love Is Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 30, 2021

A look at 1 John 3:16 as a way to understand love better and what that implies for the way we live

Throughout your body are millions of blood vessels - veins that carry blood to the heart, and arteries that carry blood from the heart. If you took all of them from an adult and laid them end-to-end, with capillaries it would be around 100,000 miles long - enough to circle the earth 4X. Blood is ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:16

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

All Those Who Wander Are Not Lost: A Study In Nothingness

Contributed by Justin Steckbauer on Mar 30, 2021

Much of my early life was lived by such reverberations. I don't want to bash it. It had it's appeals. No burdens, no responsibilities. Just drift about. Ironically enough I live in a similar way today at times. I'm in the arms of God. I have no idea what will happen today.

"When Monday comes I want nothing Come Tuesday morning I want the same The days and nights fly by Looking to embrace the nothing of the everyday...." -Yo La Tengo, "Everyday" from the album: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. Much of my early life was lived by such ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2-9

Denomination: Salvation Army

Walk Where You Can’t See Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 30, 2021

a reminder that we live by faith, not by sight

This is our 5th week of talking about your bucket list. I want to say how encouraging it was for our student ministry to jump up and challenge us last week to say what needs to be said! Their enthusiasm is contagious, and catching that is a whole lot better than catching the flu, isn’t it? This ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-40

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

If It’s Ok, Is It Ok? Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

Marijuana. Yes, this is a message prompted by the legalization of recreational marijuana use in our state. How should a believer approach this?

Question to be asked: OK, now that marijuana has been legalized, is there anything wrong with using it? Intro: I’m driving up Perryville. There, on the right-hand side, there’s a line of people standing out in the cold. I’ve noticed them there since very early on this year, nearly every day. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 Corinthians 16:13

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why? Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Job does not offend God with his whys. Instead, he makes God proud of him, because of his patience and persistence in spite of having no answer to his whys.

Paul Aurandt shares this true story of James Macie. He was an illegitimate child, which is really a foolish idea, for it is the parents that are illegitimate, and not the child, but as is so often the case, the stigma of this followed him for life. The laws of England, in the 18th century, denied ...read more

Joyful Saints Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

A saint is not determined by what they are, but by where they are. If they are in Christ, that is the bottom line. The degree of holiness varies tremendously, but all who are in Christ are equally saints.

Roger Fredricksen, a well-known pastor in my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, wrote a book titled God Loves The Dandelions. In it he tells of how he and his wife Ruth were at a small cabin on the lake in Minnesota. They had just finished reading the book of Philippians with all its powerful ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11

Palm Sunday - The Triumphal Road To Discipleship

Contributed by Neil Olcott on Apr 2, 2021

This sermon will be looking at Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem as He came to the end of His long road toward His earthly purpose and final work for us all on this earth, the cross. It looks at how easy it is for us to get off track on what our final destinations as disciples is meant to be.

INTRO: Back in February Pat and I were returning from a week in Florida. We have made the trip from DC here to Dillsburg many times. When we travel we often will listen to an audio book to help pass the time. This year we were coming up from Richmond and into DC and listening to our book and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:37-40, Luke 9:51-56

Denomination: Baptist

The Reversal Of Revenge Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 3, 2021

Paul's message is that the Christian can shift the balance of power to the side of righteousness by leaving vengeance to God and concentrating on doing good. Never is doing good more needed than when you feel like revenge.

The Revolutionary War was complicated by the fact that it was often also a Civil War. Families were on both sides of the conflict. William, for example became the governor of New Jersey because of the influence of his famous father. The shocking thing was that William wanted to be loyal to the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:19

Believing Without Seeing

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Apr 4, 2021

On the day of Jesus's return we will see him, in person, face to face. Until that great day, we are those who have not seen, yet believe. We are those who have not touched and seen and heard.

There are some things about us that we just have, naturally. Think about how children look. Every child receives some features from his or her parents, like red hair or brown eyes or a certain shape of nose or chin. And sometimes we think faith is like that too. We say, “I’m pretty sure I have ...read more

Scripture: John 20:28-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Excellence Excludes Excess Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

Paul says this is what Christian leaders are to be. They are not to be people who get captured by the culture, or by circumstances. They are to be people who are stable and consistent in their commitments regardless of changes in life.

As I read Barbara Shields book Winners-Women And The Nobel Prize, I was so impressed by the life and leadership of Agnes Gunxha, better known as Mother Teresa. As I read of her life and ministry I kept seeing her fulfilling the requirements that Paul lays down for one to be an elder, or leader, in ...read more

Scripture: Titus 1:5-9

Christian Education Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

Severe suffering will cause most Christians to go through some sort of conflict like this, and that is why Christians need to be taught to have sound endurance. This is the ability to not give up, but to hang in there and do the will of God even when it does not seem to pay off.

One of the most remarkable stories in the history of horse training is that of the horse named Snow Man. There is an old verse that jockeys supposedly whisper into the horses ear before a race: Roses are red, Violets are blue. Horses that lose Are made into glue. Snow Man apparently heard this ...read more

Scripture: Titus 2:1-10

The Father's Job Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 7, 2021

Fathers are God's agents of the law, but they are also God's agents of grace. To be the first, and not the second, is to be one testament shy of a Bible, or shy of God's full revelation. A half of a Bible is not the Bible, and half of a father is not a father.

Dick Van Dyke tells the stories of how children act toward their father when they are angry. In his book Faith, Hope and Hilarity he tells of a boy who had been spanked by his father for making too much noise. The boy climbed into his mother's lap and said, "Mama I wish you had married ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

The Healing Power Of Forgiveness

Contributed by Dennis Lee on Apr 11, 2021

Today's message looks at the doctrine of forgiveness, what it is and isn't, why we need to forgive, how we go about forgiving, and what then is confession and how that is the beginning of the forgiveness process.

The Healing Power of Forgiveness How many think people in general are weird? Now, how many think others are weirder than you? Now, in my almost 70 years of life, one of the things I’ve learned is that we’re all weird, and a little bit odd at times, or for some, most of the time. And the reason is ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 6:12, Job 5:2

Denomination: Foursquare

Seeing Your Work As A Mission Series

Contributed by Steve Malone on Apr 14, 2021

In this message we will see that the key to living out your work as a mission is to be... 'N.I.C.E.R'

Seeing Your Work As A Mission 20/20 Vision OKAY – welcome to week five in our series, ‘20/20 Vision’ A series about have visual acuity, about seeing things clearly in regards to 6 extremely important areas of your life and mine. Jesus, The Church, Ourselves, Our Relationships, Our Work and Our ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:27-28, Colossians 3:23-24

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Day Of Pentecost - The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit At The Moment Of Salvation

Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Apr 15, 2021

There are significant denominational distinctives about what happened on the Day of Pentecost, which has polarized the body of Christ. This message is intended to find common ground from the Scriptures for those on every side of the isle.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-4, John 20:22-23, Romans 8:11, Ephesians 5:18, Acts 13:52, Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Timothy 2:15, Hebrews 13:8  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational