Sermons on Jim Croce:

But It’s Only Words

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Aug 10, 2021

We often dismiss our words because actions are what really matter. This sermon looks at some of the warnings the Scripture gives us about the dangers of our words.

BUT IT'S ONLY WORDS: Often we think of actions as being serious but words as being insignificant. TAKING OUR WORDS SERIOUSLY: 1. Your words reveal who you are. - Matthew 12:34-35. - We deny this: “I said it but that’s not who I am.” Like when we lie or burst out in anger. 2. Your words ...read more

Scripture: James 3:2-6, James 1:26, Matthew 12:33-37

Denomination: Baptist

The Gospel Of Might Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on May 4, 2022

The arrest of Jesus puts a spotlight on the "Gospel of Might" versus the "Gospel of Jesus." What are the differences? And how does the backward stumbling that's described there sum it all up?

THE GOSPEL OF MIGHT: By all outward indications, Jesus is in a losing situation. - John 18:1-11. - Pieces of this outward situation: a. Jesus has a betrayer with inside information. - John 18:2. b. Jesus is in an enclosed area. - John 18:1. - It’s an olive grove and they went “into it,” so ...read more

Scripture: John 18:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

The Forgotten Trial Of Jesus Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on May 17, 2022

This overlooked portion of the trial of Jesus reveals a deep lesson on power.

- Talk about how this is the forgotten part of the trial, as well as the overall pieces of the trial. - There are basically three pieces to the religious trial and three pieces to the civil trial: 1. Religious trial. a. Here before Annas. b. Before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57-68; ...read more

Scripture: John 18:12-24

Denomination: Baptist

When We Fail Jesus Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on May 27, 2022

A look at Peter's betrayal and what we can learn from it concerning the times we fail Jesus.

OVERCONFIDENT FAITH: Peter fails Jesus three times. - John 18:15-18, 25-27. - Sometimes we have false confidence. - We think too highly of ourselves or too lightly of sin or Satan. - What was at the heart of Peter’s denials? a. Fear of death? b. There was a convenient way out (just lie)? c. ...read more

Scripture: John 18:15-27

Denomination: Baptist

Five Challenges With Finding The Truth Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Jun 9, 2022

Pilate's iconic "What is truth?" question is the centerpiece of a passage that highlights several of the ways that we struggle with truth in our lives.

PILATE ASKS A GREAT QUESTION: “What is truth?” - John 18:38a. - Many ways to take it: sincere, sneering, lost, confused. - But at the end of the day, it is an essential question. - It’s not enough to be sincere in our beliefs, we need to sincerely believe something that’s true. - What about ...read more

Scripture: John 18:28-40

Denomination: Baptist

Strength In Service

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Jun 24, 2022

God has blessed us with the gift of masculine strength--not only physically, but with a crucial moral and spiritual responsibility--to be used only and always in the service of love.

You may have seen the maternity shirt that says, “A man did this to me, Oprah.” Men are responsible for a lot of things that determine the kind of world we live in, for better or worse. This morning, Father’s Day, I’d like to highlight the “better.” (I’ve never understood why someone would ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

What Do I Want More Than Jesus? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Jun 24, 2022

This is a passage that clearly indicates what Pilate prized more than anything else. What can we learn from him?

- Paint a picture of all the conflicting priorities we try to hold onto simultaneously: money, family, relationships, morality, power, religion, etc. THE BIG QUESTION FOR THIS MORNING: What’s the last thing in your hands? - When we think of all those things, there are situations where we have to ...read more

Scripture: John 19:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

The Big Problem With The Pharisees, Sadducees, And Herodians

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Feb 22, 2022

All three of these groups dealt with the same problem: hypocrisy. How do we combat that?

ACROSS THE BOARD: The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians all get the same criticism. - Matthew 16:11; Mark 8:15. - In our passage we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees criticized. Let’s add another group before we move on. - In Mark 8:15 we have a similar passage. This is after the feeding ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:5-12

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed With Every Blessing

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Mar 2, 2022

We’re thoroughly blessed and cherished--absolutely, unconditionally and infinitely--by God, the great Lover of our souls. What would your life look like if you lived believing that wholeheartedly?

Henri Nouwen, the late Dutch Catholic priest, had a very interesting life and ministry--teaching courses on spirituality at Harvard and Yale, spending a year at a Trappist monastery, serving as a missionary to the poor in South America, and finally, coming home in the closing chapter of his life ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8

How To (Mis)interpret The Bible

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 9, 2022

While this passage teaches about divorce, it also provides an interesting case study in how believer manipulate what the Bible says for their own benefit. We'll look at five aspects of that.

- Probably the most obvious way to preach this passage would be to preach a sermon about what the Bible says about divorce. That’s an important subject, but I’m interested in something else as I dig in. - This passage provides an interesting case study into how we interpret (or, more accurately, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Consecrate Yourselves Series

Contributed by Jim Moynihan on Mar 17, 2022

Before God can do any great work through his people, he must do a great work in his people.

Henry Blackaby tells the story of a missionary family assigned to a predominately Moslem urban center in 1985. After decades of work they had started only 5 small churches. Some friends asked them to consider going to a place where the people were more responsive to the gospel. But, they were ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 3:1-5

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

"I Know My Sheep And They Know Me” Series

Contributed by Jim Moynihan on Mar 17, 2022

All of us can and need to have and nurture a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

Our focus today is that we all can and need to have and nurture a personal relationship with God through Jesus. This is more than just having a salvation experience with Jesus. We can actually know God personally. A. God DESIRES an Intimate Relationship with Us - Verses 1-11 In verses 1-5 ...read more

Scripture: John 10:14-15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Great Adventure

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Mar 18, 2022

The Christian life is as good as it gets, with its promise of greater love, joy and peace. Those rewards, and more, are there for everyone who actively follows Christ and lives their faith in the spirit of the great adventure it was always meant to be.

Philippians 3:10-14 In the 1980’s a Californian named Larry Walters, a 33 year old truck driver, rigged 42 weather balloons to an aluminum lawn chair and then had two friends untie the tethers from the bumper of his Jeep. Expecting it to drift gradually up and away, instead he streaked into the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:10-14

Love Is Relational

Contributed by Jim Keegan on May 8, 2021

Love is all about relationships. The cross itself speaks of the two dimensions of love, vertical and horizontal, divine and human love. And where they intersect most powerfully is in relationships.

Love is Relational John 21:15-17 (Read text.) I remember hearing missionaries to the Congo talking about the need for long-term missions, especially the importance of learning the language and the culture of the people. “Language and culture are important,” they said, “because they facilitate ...read more

Scripture: John 21:15-17

Lessons From The Triumphal Entry Prophecies Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on May 18, 2021

This sermon on a familiar passage takes a different approach, looking at the prophetic quotes within the Triumphal Entry story.

OUR FOCUS IN THIS MESSAGE: This Triumphal Entry story pauses to note its Old Testament roots. - John 12:16. - This is easily overlooked, but it is important that it is inserted here. What do the prophetic pieces of this passage have to tell us? - Preaching on the Triumphal Entry normally either ...read more

Scripture: John 12:12-19

Denomination: Baptist