Sermons on jonathan: showing 1,846-1,860 of 4,402

Fear Frustration Faith

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Fear. Frustration. Faith. We all have them and each is related. While faith can be the solution to fear and frustration, it can also be the source of fear and frustration. How can faith be both the solution and the source? That’s what the account of Abraham leads us to consider.

What are you afraid of? What is it that frustrates you? Maybe your fears come from the “what ifs” in life, what if this happens or that happens. Maybe they are the fears of what other people think of you or the fear of failure. Maybe it’s the fear of things from the past, things that you can’t ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 15:1-6

Denomination: Lutheran

Pray Boldly!

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Can our prayers really change an all-powerful and all-knowing God’s mind? How does prayer work? We’re going to see prayer in action as we examine a prayer offered by Abraham to the Lord. He prayed boldly and the Lord responded. What can we learn from that prayer about the prayers we offer?

Nearly 1000 years after Abraham lived, the Lord wrote through the psalmist, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). The invitation was not a new one from the Lord. It was an invitation that God had extended to his people from the beginning of ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 18:20-32

Denomination: Lutheran

Listen To The Lord!

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Are you a good listener? Not listening many times means you’re going to miss something important. How about listening to the Lord? Are you a good listener? Samuel is a good example for us to follow when it comes to listening to the Lord. How does the Lord speak to us? Why should we listen?

Are you a good listener? Maybe instead of asking you, I should ask your spouse, or your children, or your parents. Are you a good listener? There are certainly some people that are better listeners than others and you’ve probably experienced that in your life. A person who is a sympathetic ear, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Denomination: Lutheran

Loving The Lord

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Are you a good Samaritan? We might try to help other people, but is that really what Jesus was trying to teach when he told the story about the good Samaritan? Look to what leads up to this parable and see how Jesus' story is so much more than just a lesson teaching us to help other people.

“Help other people.” When did you learn that lesson? That is one of the very basic lessons that we normally learn at a very early age. Someone drops something, you pick it up. Someone falls down on the playground, you help them up. If there is someone who is need, you share what you have been ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Denomination: Lutheran

Committed To Christ

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

You're trying to make the right decisions and live out your Christian life, but the more you try, the more difficult life seems to get. Our Christians lives are not always so glorious. Why do we continue? Where do find the glory of a life committed to following Christ?

Have you ever had one of those weeks where things seem to go wrong? You’re trying to do the right thing, make the right decisions, but it just doesn’t work out the way you thought it would. You set aside time for a family dinner, only to have it turn into sibling arguments, someone stomping away ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:14-21

Denomination: Lutheran

Peace & Persecution

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Are you comfortable in being a follower of Christ? Countless Christians around the world face intense persecution for being followers of Jesus, but they're not alone. We share in the struggles of being a Christian. Why is that? Listen to Jesus' call to deny yourself and follow him.

Each year, a Christian organization called “Open Doors” publishes a list of the top 50 countries where Christians are most intensely persecuted for their faith. Physical violence, death threats, execution, imprisonment, rape, neglect, burning of homes, bombing of churches, abandoned by family, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:18-24

Denomination: Lutheran

Ministry Is Not Meant To Be A One-Man Show

Contributed by Jonathan Kruschel on Aug 28, 2019

Do you need help? We rarely like to think that we do. How did Moses respond when someone said that he looked like he needed some help. Moses’ example is a great reminder of the help that God provides for us in those whom God has placed around us in our church to carry out the ministry together.

“Do you need some help?” When someone asks you that question, what is your natural reaction? I think that our natural response might be a bit defensive, “No. I’ve got it. I’m fine” whether we really are or not. Why is that? There is a little part of us that doesn’t want to admit that we need ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 18:13-27

Denomination: Lutheran

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