Sermons on Hostile World:

Four Steps To Bearing Fruit

Contributed by D. Dewaine Phillips on Mar 6, 2022

John chapter 15 speaks of bearing fruit, which we often interpret as winning lost souls to Christ. However, winning people to Christ is only one meaning of the word fruit. Fruit symbolized the best result or sweetest prize in life.

One time on the farm I was sitting on my porch admiring the rose bushes that were in bloom. A couple of weeks prior they had appeared to be dead. They hadn’t been pruned in over two years since my mom passed away. Each bush was a huge mass of dead branches. My wife asked me about them, and I ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Preach The Word -- Which One? 1 Of 2

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 7, 2022

Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was, “Preach the Word...” This same exhortation is given to pastors today.

However, if they are going to preach the Word of God today, they have to make a judgment as to which one of the many Bibles available is actually God’s Word. If all the translations, versions, revisions, and paraphrases taught the same thing, there would be no controversy, BUT THEY DO NOT! ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:15-21

Denomination: Baptist

Grace From Galatians (3 Of 19)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 7, 2022

In chapter one, we find Paul defending his calling and the gospel which he preached. There were those who were saying that he was a self-proclaimed minister preaching a false gospel.

Because of the things that are being said about Paul, he says some things about himself that might seem to be bragging in his defense. Look at Galatians 1:13-24, we read, “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Grace From Galatians (17 Of 19)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 8, 2022

In this passage of scripture, Paul is addressing Christians. Notice, he addressed them in verse 1 by referring to them as, “Brethren”.

Paul’s concept of the church throughout the scriptures is that the Believers are the family of God. WHY IS HE ADDRESSING THEM? He is addressing them because people in the family of God are supposed to love one another as a LOVING FAMILY. Like all families, the family of God has times when ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-5

Denomination: Baptist

Revival And The Prayer Of Power Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Mar 13, 2022

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor on it labor in vain. And unless we pray for God to build our upcoming Revival, all our labor will be in vain. But what should we pray for God to do?

A woman told of their family moving into a new house in town after years of living on a farm. Early the next morning, their 3 year old boy ran into the bedroom to wake them. “I dressed him and told him to play in the yard and to quit bothering us.” About 20 minutes later, he came running back. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:1

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Comfort From Above

Contributed by Dennis Lee on Mar 13, 2022

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies (compassion) and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3) From our study we’ll see how in God's compassion He comforts us in our time of need

Comfort From Above Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbShVMy0QWs There have been many occasions when the Lord has spoken to my heart the need to comfort His people through messages that I preach. Sometimes I can get kind of deep when I talk about God and His word for our lives. And then I ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Isaiah 66:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, John 14:15-18, John 16:7  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Foursquare

Acts Of The Apostles 22 Of 39

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 14, 2022

In chapter 15, we studied the sad separation of Paul and Barnabas.

Before this, in Acts 13:2, we read, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." God, the Holy Spirit, had called them unto this work, and they were being greatly blessed of the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-26

Denomination: Baptist

The Suffering Saint

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 16, 2022

Make no mistake about it, SAINTS and SINNERS in this life suffer. Some who promote “Easy-Believism” in order to win converts to the Lord, paint a picture of the Christian life as a fairy tale.

You accept the Lord and live happily ever after. But that is not true. SAINTS, like the SINNERS in this life have their share of suffering. • We may not suffer for the same reasons they suffer, but we suffer • Many times for the SAINTS and the SINNERS, the sufferings come from bad decisions they ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Don’t Worry… Be Happy!

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 17, 2022

Life is great and wonderful, and very seldom do we hear about anyone who wants to depart from this wonderful life that God has blessed us with.

Most of us enjoy the blessings of this life so immensely, we want to live as long as possible. Illus: An 80-year-old man went to a doctor for a check-up. After the examination, the doctor told him what he was hoping to hear. He said, "You're in terrific shape. There's nothing wrong ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Or Stressed?

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 17, 2022

We all deal with STRESS in different ways. There is GOOD STRESS and there is BAD STRESS!

Good stress, also called “eustress”, is very beneficial to our life. It means we stretch ourselves to be our very best. For years we've believed that stress is a bad thing - it damages our health. But stress can have a good side. Illus: For example, for a violinist to make music, the strings ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9

Denomination: Baptist

The Hedge Of Protection

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 17, 2022

Solomon is considered to be one of, if not the smartest man who ever walked on this earth. When a man like this gives advice, it might be smart for us to listen to him. In this verse of scripture he reveals two things:

(1) He talks about how traps that people set for each other often trap those who set them. Illus: Have you ever set a rat trap and had it snap and catch your finger? Illus: A good example of setting a trap and getting caught in it is found in the Book of Esther, where wicked Haman was hanged on ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 10:8

Denomination: Baptist

Bible Friendship (Friend’s Day)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 19, 2022

Look at Prov. 27:5, we read, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

Also look at Prov. 27:9-10 “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 27:5-6

Denomination: Baptist

Trust And Obey(1 Of 2)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 22, 2022

The Rev. Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Desiring to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.

When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "If you'll come to the Church meeting this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven." The boy said to Dr. Graham, I do not think I'll be there. If you do not know the way to the post office, how are ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:1-35

Denomination: Baptist

Making A Messiah, Palm Sunday Series

Contributed by Denn Guptill on Mar 20, 2016

Over Holy Week we looked at how Jesus was framed and the events that led up to it.

For most of us the lead up to Easter begins with Palm Sunday, in case you missed it that’s today. But really the stage was set before the celebration of the triumphant entry. Most of you know that I am a Jesus Christ Super Star nerd and in the past I’ve shown the Palm Sunday clip from the 2000 ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25-34

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Hill To Die On Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Mar 20, 2016

Why wasn't Moses allowed into the Promised Land? The short answer is: he sinned, but somehow that doesn't seem quite fair. He was one of the greatest and meekest men in Scripture. Is there something more about God's decision that we need to know?

I love to read and a few weeks ago I ran across a word quiz from a non-Christian publication that – at first – angered me. I thought they were making fun of Christianity. But once I read the answer to the quiz I realized not only were they NOT doing that, but in fact someone had ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:48-52

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ