Sermons on Jonathan Morris:

Paul At Athens: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Outcomes

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 5, 2019

Paul looked for ways to share the Gospel in a most unlikely place. He gave them something to think about!

Our text is from Acts, chapter 17, and here is the background. Paul has left Philippi, as written in Acts 16, and now he’s heading to Athens after he had been in Thessalonica and Berea. He’s now there in Athens, which was the capital of thought in those days. Athens was one of the largest and most ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:16-21

Denomination: Baptist

Stay True To The Lord

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 10, 2019

The Gospel was spreading and people were trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Especially in Antioch, they needed encouragement and who better than Barnabas to fulfill that ministry!

Stay True to the Lord (Based on a message preached at First Baptist Church, Glasgow, MO) The background for today’s message comes from the Book of Acts, chapter 11, verses 19 through 26. Luke wrote these words under the Holy Spirit’s guidance about how things were beginning to change. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 11:19-26

Denomination: Baptist

Our Adversary, The Devil

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 19, 2019

if you feel that somebody is watching you, you're absolutely right!

Our Adversary, the Devil Based on a sermon preached at First Baptist Church, Glasgow, Missouri. (This is not an exact transcription.) Background: Peter is writing to encourage groups of believers who are going through persecution. His ministry was originally to the Jews but God gave him the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8-11

Denomination: Baptist

What Does It Mean To Be Successful?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 25, 2019

The dictionary has definitions of success and successful. Being successful in this life is no guarantee one will be successful in the next life!

Preface: The dictionary has a few definitions of success, mostly with the idea of accomplishing something or acquiring something (you either do something or get something you want to do). Jesus has been engaged in teaching and conversation with others (see chapter 11 and 12:1-12) but some of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21, Job 1:21, Ecclesiastes 2:16-19

Denomination: Baptist

The Fork In The Road

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

The “fork in the road” - decisions that we make - some of them seemingly insignificant and others monumental with lasting impact. Psalm 1 gives us two ways - one leads to destruction, the other to blessing, prosperity and righteousness. What is the path that leads to each?

Each day and throughout the day, we come to many forks in the road – decisions that we have to make. Many of those decisions are we might consider momentary. They won’t have a huge, long-lasting impact on our lives. But other forks are rather monumental because of the impact that they are going ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Fighting A Losing Battle Or Fighting A Battle Already Won?

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

Do you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle? Maybe you feel that way as a Christian especially when you look at the world around you which seems to b growing more and more defiant of what we believe and what the Bible teaches. Are we fighting a losing battle?

Do you ever feel like your fighting a losing battle? Maybe it’s the battle with a diet that as hard as you try it just don’t seem be helping you to loose any weight. Maybe it’s the battle with a teenager, trying to get them to put their dishes INTO the dishwasher not just BY the dishwasher. Or ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Praise The Lord! What? How? When?

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

What does praise look like? We attach the word "praise" to types of music, styles of worship, and certain actions. But what does the Bible actually say about praise and how God's people praise him?

When you think of “praise,” what comes to mind? You might think of something that takes place in a church or in a worship service. Maybe you might think of certain actions. Maybe you’ve heard the joke about the woman who in the middle of the sermon stood up, lifted up her hands and said, “Praise ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Right With God Through Faith In Jesus Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

Are you good enough? Good enough parent? spouse? student? friend? How about in your relationship with God? Are you good enough? Discover the freeing truth of the gospel that proclaims that in Christ Jesus you are not just good enough, you're perfect!

Let’s see if you can finish this saying, “If at first you don’t succeed… try, try, try again.” Maybe you had a parent, a coach or a teacher that said something like to you, trying to encourage you not to give up on something that they thought you could or needed to learn to do – write your name, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17

Denomination: Lutheran

Judgment Day Reveals The Righteousness Of God Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

If the guilty go free we call it a travesty, an injustice, unfair. Yet, the Bible says that on Judgment Day the guilty will go free? How can God do that? Is that fair or right? It’s because of God’s righteousness that guilty sinners go free on Judgment Day.

It just didn’t seem right or fair. The evidence of guilt was overwhelming. The witnesses had poured in one after another recounting firsthand of destructive and damaging conversations and actions. Fingerprints were found everywhere that clearly connected the person standing before the judge to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 2:1-16

Denomination: Lutheran

Waiting And Ready For Heaven Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

The dreaded waiting room - filled with anticipation and uncertainty. What if you could take away that uncertainty - knowing what the outcome was going to be? Great! That's what God does as we wait for heaven. He reveals the outcome and it's glorious!

Do you enjoy the waiting room? I’ve had a lot of experience in waiting rooms throughout the years. As nice and comfortable as hospitals and doctors’ offices attempt to make them, I don’t know of anyone who really looks forward to sitting in a waiting room. It is always a place filled with ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-30

Denomination: Lutheran

The King Keeps His People Safe Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

How can you be sure? When it comes to heaven, how can you be sure that you’re going to make it? Christ the King gives us the sure confidence that heaven awaits us as he turns us to the power of his love in the past, present and future.

How can I be sure? You’re looking at the sign that says “Best Price Guaranteed” but how can you really be sure? So you pull out your phone and go to Amazon just to make sure that you’re really getting what you were promised. You stand there looking at a car or a new appliance. You want to make ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39

Denomination: Lutheran

Give Thanks Always?

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

When will you give thanks? Our thankfulness is so often dependent upon the circumstances of our lives. Find a continual source of gratefulness in God and what he has and continues to do for you in Christ Jesus.

What do you see? Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full? The answer is, “Yes” since both are true. But we sometimes use that expression to describe a person’s outlook on life. Are you a glass-half-full kind of person – the optimist, OR are you a glass-half-empty kind of person, the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Denomination: Lutheran

Not What They Expected Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

How much do you remember about John the Baptist? Camel hair clothing, locust diet, or loaner lifestyle? While those are memorable, John is arguably one of the most significant people in Jesus’ life and ministry. See how the unexpected surrounded John's birth.

While at the children’s hospital this summer in California, my wife Nikky and I were sitting in the atrium to the main entrance one day when I noticed a man in a black suit and an ear piece walking around. He was looking all over the place and talking to people. As I watched him I leaned over to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:67-80

Denomination: Lutheran

Controversial Character Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

John the Baptist's message of repentance is just as controversial today as it was in in his day. It was a message that caused people to think and evaluate what they were doing and why. It does the same today? Ready for some controversy?

Throughout history there have been many controversial characters: kings and queens, presidents and politicians, artists, actors and song writers, scientists and CEOs. What is it that made them so controversial? By what they did or said, they made people uncomfortable, forcing people to have to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

Denomination: Lutheran

As Good As God Promised Series

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Dec 30, 2019

As John the Baptist sat in prison, staring at the end of his life, he started to wonder if Jesus was everything that he expected Jesus to be. See how Jesus answers that question and continues to answer our questions when we might doubt if God is really all that we hoped him to be.

Was it everything that you had expected? You ripped open the rapping paper on Christmas morning to unveil the toy that you had seen advertised so many times on TV. You had been sure to put it at the top of your Christmas list in great detail taking away any of the possible guess work as to which ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

Denomination: Lutheran