Sermons on John Dominic Crossan:

Free Not To Be Me

Contributed by David Roth on Mar 21, 2015

Lent 5 (B). Christ gave his life as a ransom, freeing us not only from sin, but from our own flesh and the power of the devil. We are now free to serve others, as we live under Him in His kingdom.

J. J. May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. “Free not to be me” Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. And as they are walking, He is telling them about His upcoming ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Denomination: Lutheran

Preparing The Way Series

Contributed by Tyler Edwards on Jun 13, 2011

John the Baptist prepares for the coming of Christ.

Preparing the Way Ben Franklin once said: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” While we all know it is important, sometimes we fail to do it. In his book The Survivors Club Ben Sherwood investigates why some people survive tragic accidents and others do not. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:1-14

Denomination: *other

The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Contributed by Craig Condon on May 11, 2015

We are baptized for action. We are baptized to go out into the world and be the hands, voice and presence of Christ. We are baptized for the sake of others and for the sake of the world.

If the reading we heard from Mark’s Gospel a few minutes ago sounds familiar, it’s because we heard part of the same reading a few weeks ago on the Second Sunday of Advent. On that Sunday, we heard John the Baptist talk about the coming of Jesus and the baptism that he would provide-the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:4-11

Denomination: Anglican

The Ministry Begins Series

Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Jun 16, 2014

Jesus is shown by Mark as a servant who acts immediately when God commands. As John prepared the way, Jesus' obedience to the Father is clearly demonstrated. The example then before us is simple: When God speaks, we must respond!

The Ministry Begins Mark 1:1-15 - Today will begin our study of the Gospel of Mark; runs for couple of months -- Expository method of preaching: verse by verse, examining context & meaning -- Very important to discover God’s word in this way (tackle even the tough stuff) ∆ ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:1-15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

James Put To Death Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Apr 15, 2017

If the apostles remained largely untouched by the persecution that followed Stephen’s death, the situation radically changed when Herod Agrippa assumed rule over Judea. The apostles then became the specific targets of the king’s efforts to suppress the...

June 5, 2014 By: Tom Lowe Lesson: III.F.1: James Put to Death. (12:1, 2) Scripture (Acts 12:1, 2; KJV) 1 About ...read more

Scripture: Acts 12:1-2

Denomination: Baptist

Rearranging Deck Chairs On The Titanic

Contributed by Ricky Taylor on Dec 13, 2014

The World is coming to an end, just as the Titanic was sinking, and, as they were pretending all was well, so is the world...

Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic 2 Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:4-9

Denomination: Pentecostal

Behold The Lamb Of God

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Sep 28, 2013

What might John the Baptist's hearers have understood by his declaration: "Behold the Lamb of God"?

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD. John 1:29-37. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said to the crowds around him, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The next day he repeated to two of his own disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God!” What did John the Baptist mean when he called ...read more

Scripture: John 1:29-37

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Anatomy Of A Happy Home Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Aug 10, 2012

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o‘clock hour of prayer. And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the

4-11-03 The Living Christ in the Church Text: Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, (rise and) ...read more

Scripture: Acts 3:1-18

Denomination: Baptist

Christmas Eve Sermon: "Am I 'strong In Spirit'?"

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Dec 5, 2017

A look at Luke 1:80 where it says that John the Baptist "become strong in spirit." This is the verse before the famous Christmas story (Luke 2:1-7). The sermon encourages people to "train themselves in godliness" and become more like Christ.

- Story from Preaching Today of the person pointlessly trying to visit every Starbucks in America. - “Accomplishing” something that really doesn’t amount to much. - What we accomplish with our lives is what v. 80 got me to thinking about. - This verse comes just before that famous Christmas ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

How We Can Defeat The Darkness Series

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Dec 22, 2017

How can we defeat the darkness? 1. Put a priority on prayer (vs. 1-5). 2. Rely on our Redeemer (vs. 6-16). 3. Strive to stick together (vs. 12-16). 4. Live in loyalty to the Lord (vs. 17).

How We Can Defeat the Darkness Acts 12:1-17 (Reading vs. 1-5) Sermon by Rick Crandall Grayson Baptist Church April 6, 2014 (Revised Sept. 18, 2016) *Anybody paying any attention at all knows we are living in a time of growing darkness. A five-minute glance at the headlines is enough to prove that ...read more

Scripture: Acts 12:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

No Screaming, Lots Of Listening

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 8, 2025

We might make the fiery preacher John the Baptist into our kind of Messiah. Energize by screaming at folks.

Feast of the Baptism of Jesus 2025 Sometimes in our reflections we might think that if God just made a few changes in the way He engineered our salvation, things might have gone better. Isaiah predicts that the Messiah would come gently, not screaming His message, giving people who were broken and ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4, Isaiah 42:6-7, Acts 10:34-38, Luke 3:15-16, Luke 3:21-22  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Catholic

A Chapter Of Murder And Miracles (Matthew 14:1-36)

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on May 16, 2025

This chapter describes the death of John the Baptist by Herod and the continuing ministry of the Lord Jesus.

The fourteenth chapter of Matthew opens with the death of John the Baptist, who had been imprisoned for preaching against the wicked ruler Herod Antipas. His father, Herod the “Great” had been the “ruler” of Judea from 37 - 4 BC at the behest of Rome and the emperor Augustus Caesar (ruled from ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-14, Matthew 14:1-36

Denomination: Baptist

The Blame Game

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 9, 2023

Excuses and forgiveness are opposites. What can be excused does not need to be forgiven.

What do you suppose happened at the palace the next morning, when Herod woke up with a hangover the size of the Roman Empire and a public relations problem twice as big? I can hear them all spinning the story, can’t you? It’s not the way it seems! It’s not my fault! I’m not to blame! Let’s listen ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:14-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Consequences Of Repentance Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Jun 13, 2023

John the Baptist's words about repentance draw a strong conviction from his hearers. They ask for practical instruction on how to move forward. What does John tell them?

THE CONSEQUENCES OF REPENTANCE: It’s striking that John’s answers are very practical. - Luke 3:10-14. - vv. 10, 12, 14 – Requests for practical answers. - The previous passage (and last week’s sermon) focused on the nature of repentance. Now these that were convicted by the message - Now we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:10-14

Denomination: Baptist

The Beginning Of The Gospel Series

Contributed by David Owens on Mar 13, 2023

As is characteristic of Mark's Gospel, he quickly identifies that his subject is "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," and then immediately introduces John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Jesus, and then immediately tells about Jesus' baptism and temptation.

A. When you are writing a story, you want to catch your reader’s attention from the very start, right? 1. Here are some opening lines from actual books – some are famous, some not so famous. 2. “If you're going to read this, don't bother.” Choke 3. “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:1-13

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ