Sermons on Jim:

Is God Unjust To Ask Such A Sacrifice Of Ezekiel And His Wife? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 20, 2024

The tragic death of Ezekiel's wife is caused by God as a sign for Israel. Is God unjust to ask such a sacrifice?

WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS? Is God unjust to ask such a sacrifice of Ezekiel and his wife? - Ezekiel 24:15-27. - This is just a tough passage, but it’s one that points us to an important truth that often gets overlooked in the American church. Let’s start by unpacking this passage and then we’ll ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 24:15-27

Denomination: Baptist

The Great Thanksgiving

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Nov 27, 2024

As Christians, we walk in the beauty and glory of God's great love and mercy in Christ. What better reason could there ever be to thank God with all of our hearts, and with our very lives themselves?

"The Great Thanksgiving" Psalm 100 I once heard a pastor tell the story in a sermon of something that happened when he was visiting his brother in Florida. While there they decided to go deep-sea fishing on his brother’s boat. But after they were several miles out at sea and well out ...read more

Grace And Peace

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Jan 3, 2023

Paul begins every one of his thirteen letters with these words of blessing: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s arguably the greatest of all the biblical benedictions, but it goes mostly ignored.

Franklin Roosevelt was greeting guests at the White House one evening as they came through the reception line. He disliked this ritual, however, since everyone always spoke their rehearsed lines without actually listening to what was said. So, feeling mischievous that evening and to test his ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8, Romans 5:1

Blessings In Disguise

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Jan 18, 2023

Hand-in-hand with God’s blessing there is always testing to deepen our bonds of intimate love and trust. Those two forces work together for our good.

We see in this familiar passage two of the foundational stories of the Gospel: Christ’s blessing by God, followed very closely by his temptation. These are also the two universal realities of the spiritual life: both blessings and trials. After his baptism, Jesus saw the Spirit descending on ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

In This Together

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Sep 30, 2022

We need each other in order to become whole and to live in the fullness of God’s blessing.

In May of 1953, two men became the first in history to summit Mount Everest: Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper and explorer, and a man named Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide from Nepal. Hillary’s name remains famous for this inspiring achievement, but how many of us remember Tenzing Norgay? ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13

God Is Love

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Oct 19, 2022

God wants us to live in the blessing, joy and peace of knowing that we’re his beloved children.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5; 1 John 4:9-18 (selected verses) I spent a summer while I was in seminary as a student minister at Acadia National Park in Maine, where I was assisted by a young volunteer named Martha. Martha was an old soul, wise beyond her years. I say that because during that summer ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:9-18, 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

How To Be More Encouraging To Our Brothers And Sisters In Christ Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Oct 24, 2023

Romans 14 is a key passage on potential disagreements with fellow believers. What does this passage teach us about being more encouraging in our church families?

DANGER SIGNS: 1. AM I TRIPPING UP MY BROTHER OR SISTER IN CHRIST? - Romans 14:13b, 15b. - In church arguments and fights, so often our focus is on showing everyone how right we are. - Here, though, in v. 13b, we are instructed not to put a stumbling block in front of a brother or sister. - Let ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:15-16

Denomination: Baptist

If Not Disputable Matters, What Should Our Focus Be On? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Oct 31, 2023

This sermon is the conclusion of the "How to Disagree" sermon series. In this message, we look at what we should be focused on instead of arguing over secondary issues.

A BIGGER VISION: Are we thinking of denominational correctness or of the expansive kingdom of God? - Romans 14:17a. - [Note: focus here on the Kingdom; leave the other for the second point.] - So often we get down into the weeds on all these disputable matters that we’ve been discussing for the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:17-18

Denomination: Baptist

What This Salvation Is Going To Produce Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 7, 2023

This sermon series is going to look at Romans 1-8 in seven sermons. This first sermon focuses on "what." This passage tells us what salvation is going to produce, then the following chapters tell us how it happens

- This is a sermon series that summarizes Romans 1-8 in seven sermons. So we are just hitting the big ideas. - By the very nature of that, there will be much interesting material that we will have to skip over. It’s not unusual for pastors to do a sermon series on Romans 1-8 and take 50+ sermons ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

The Starting Point Of Salvation Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 21, 2023

Paul starts his gospel presentation at a surprising point: the wrath of God. Is it justified? If so, why?

- Last week’s sermon was Paul’s introduction, which gave a summary. Now we are starting to work through what Paul shares as an explanation of the gospel. WHAT IS THE BIG QUESTION PAUL IS STARTING WITH? Is the wrath of God justified? - Romans 1:18a. - The first four words are “the wrath of ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Love Conquers All

Contributed by Jim Keegan on Nov 27, 2023

The love of God overcomes fear if we choose to open our hearts to its supreme reality. The greatest source of blessing and peace we can ever know is found in trusting in his love.

A pastor shared the story of going deep-sea fishing in Florida with his brother when their boat lost all of its electronics, including the communications and GPS functions. They were out of sight of land, and since it was an overcast day there was no way for them even to tell east from west. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43, 1 John 4:16-18

How Faith Brings Salvation Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 29, 2023

This part of Paul's argument gets into what exactly Jesus does for us.

- [Don’t read the whole passage to open the sermon.] - Review of the sermons up to this point: a. Overview. b. We are all sinners. - Having established the problem, we are now starting to get into the answer and how exactly God is working in that. WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR SALVATION? ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Where Does This Salvation Place Me? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Dec 5, 2023

What is the position that this salvation puts me in?

WHERE DOES THIS SALVATION PLACE ME? I have peace with God. - Romans 5:1-2. - Pieces of this passage: a. We talked in the last sermon about being justified by faith. - v. 1a. b. Where that salvation places me is that I now have peace with God. - v. 1b. c. Jesus made that happen. - v. 1c. d. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

When Do We Take Pleasure In The Death Of The Wicked? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Oct 21, 2024

A look at the ways we have allowed the culture war to make us hate those God called us to love as well as put secondary things first.

- [Maybe put this made-up passage up on the screen or in the sermon outline.] - Imagine that there is a Romans 17. (I’m not going heretical here - this is just a thought experiment with a point.) Imagine that at the end of Paul’s letter he shared some additional advice. - Let’s say that Romans 17 ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 18:23

Denomination: Baptist

When We Ignore The "signs" Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Oct 24, 2024

This verse points out that the Sabbath was intended to be a sign but that Israel wasn't actually obeying it. What are some ways we do similar things today?

GIVE ME A SIGN: God says here that the Sabbath was intended as a sign. - Ezekiel 20:10-12. - These verses tell us that God brought Israel out of Egypt. He gave them the Mosaic Law as a path toward life and peace. And one of the signs He gave them was the Sabbath. - What exactly does it mean that ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 20:12

Denomination: Baptist