Sermons on Lay Down The Shovel:

Week 1 The Down Side Of Worship: Preparation! Series

Contributed by Kyle Sullivan on Nov 10, 2014

Preparation is essential to real worship!

Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that King Uzziah died…” (NIV) King Uzziah life was characterized by Four Distinctives: 1. 2 Kings 15:3 2. 2 Chronicles 26:5 3. 2 Chronicles 26:5,8 4. 2 Chronicles 26: 19-20 Preparation is essential to real worship! How do we prepare ourselves to ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:8-13

Denomination: Baptist

Raising The Roof: Sickness Down, Dander Up

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jun 29, 2009

It will be necessary to do some unusual things that will raise the anger of some Christians and will not be understood in the larger community. But the bottom line is getting help to those who need it.

Several years ago, when housing prices began to shoot up into the stratosphere, we began to see something new in my neighborhood. We saw many of the houses being opened up from the top, and then construction of new second stories or new dormers or even decks and balconies, way up high. What was ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Tear Down Imaginations Or They Will Tear You Up.

Contributed by Jack Martin on Aug 22, 2009

A reminder that we are called to control what we think and dwell on. And the consequences for not.

Title: Tear down your imaginations or they will tear you up. We are so able to identify evil when it comes in those clear vial, hateful waves. They stop us in our tracks! Take our breath way! Crush our hearts! There are times when we see evil so blatant, so powerful that we shudder with fear ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:1-7

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What I See From Down Here

Contributed by Johnny Knight on Jan 29, 2010

Keep submitting to Christ's Lordship, trusting in Him with everything you've got, whether you can see His working or not.

What I See From Down Here Text: Proverbs 3:5-6 When the Native American outreach team went to Alaska, their only means of getting to remote Eskimo villages was by missionary aircraft. Those pilots were the best! Many days they had to fly through low cloud ceilings and low visibility. On a day like ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Moving Past Religion That Weighs You Down Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Feb 18, 2010

This message looks at the burdensome approach to religion that the Pharisees had and what Jesus offers instead.

PHARISEE RELIGION: “Got-to’s” and guilt lead to a heavy burden. - Matthew 23:4. - Cf. v. 3 – The Pharisees don’t practice what they preach, so they’re putting out a standard, but the “unwashed masses” don’t know how to avoid the guilt. In the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:4

Denomination: Baptist

He Went Home And Knelt Down As Usual

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on May 1, 2012

The discipline of prayer is not optional but rather a basic requirement of the spiritual life and as a response to the love of God for us.

He Went Home and Knelt Down as Usual March 25, 2012 Dan 6 Intro: It is two weeks until Easter. So as we prepare, I want to tell you a familiar story. About an innocent man betrayed by friends around him, presented before a ruler who could not save him, then condemned to a horrible death. It ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Right Side Up In An Upside Down World Series

Contributed by Mark Opperman on Oct 1, 2015

Rather than giving a list of ideals to strive for, Jesus was showing the people how widely available God’s kingdom was – even for ordinary, poor, ignorant, imperfect, despised people. The beatitudes describe their struggle & grace to thrive in adversity.

Right Side Up in an Upside Down World Intro: The more I study the Sermon on the Mount, esp. the Beatitudes, the less prescriptive and the more descriptive they become to me. Here is what I mean by that. Last week as I shared them, I introduced the first one (poor in spirit) as a requirement for ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-16

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down Series

Contributed by Mike Fogerson on Dec 29, 2014

The five keys of the Shemitah (Sabbatical year) were taught last Sunday.

The Final Countdown: Preparing for What’s Next (Based up Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Mystery of the Shemitah) Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down (2 of 5) November 9, 2014 CFBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker Introduction: A The five keys of the Shemitah (Sabbatical year) were ...read more

Scripture: Joel 2:31

Denomination: Baptist

"When ‘bad Luck’ Knocks Us Down” Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 4, 2023

The story of Joseph being sold into slavery provides a compelling example of moments when it seems like "bad luck" has come our way when God may be up to something else.

WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? There are moments when we feel like bad luck knocked us down. - We will get into the specifics that this passage details as we go through the sermon, but this is obviously a passage with some “just-so-happened” moments. - To use the common vernacular, someone might say, “Oh, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:12-36

Denomination: Baptist

Up Goes The Moisture, Down Comes The Rain

Contributed by John Gaston on Apr 21, 2021

The Holy Spirit, and revival, have similarities to the processes of rainfall. Just as moisture must evaporate up before rain, so prayers & praise must go up. When heaven reaches the saturation point, you can expect rain!

UP GOES THE MOISTURE, DOWN COMES THE RAIN Job 36:27-28; 1 Kgs. 18:43-44 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: WHOPPER OF A LIE 1. A young boy came home from his first day of school and confessed to his father that he told a lie. The father asked why he did it. 2. The boy said, "Well, dad, when they ...read more

Scripture: Job 36:27-28, 1 Kings 18:43-44, 2 Chronicles 5:12-14

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Psalms 1 And 13 - The Ups And Downs Of Life

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Feb 1, 2019

One starts with "Blessed is the man" and the other starts with "How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?" Is the second man blessed as well and if so, how can that be?

Psalms 1 & 13 Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together … 1 John 1:5-7 “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 1:6, Proverbs 3:5-8

Denomination: Nazarene

Calm Down A Fight, Flight, Or Freeze Reaction

Contributed by Thomas Swope on Jan 16, 2019

A study in the book of 2 Chronicles 11: 1 – 23

2 Chronicles 11: 1 – 23 Calm down a fight, flight, or freeze reaction 11 Now when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 11:1

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Has God Let His People Down? Series

Contributed by David Owens on Jan 13, 2020

In Romans 11, Paul explains that God has not let the Jewish people down, because God has fulfilled His promises to them by maintaining a remnant and by bringing blessings through their unbelief.

A. Many years ago, Gina Cruz, a Manila grandmother, had spent months playing Pepsi-Cola’s Numbers Fever promotion lottery. 1. She bought several bottles of Pepsi a day and saved the caps in hopes that one of the numbers printed inside the cap would win her a one million peso prize ($40,000 at the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 11:1-24

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Contributed by Gaither Bailey on Feb 26, 2020

Perhaps you have played the childhood game, Ring Around the Rosie.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down Matthew 6: 1 - 6 Intro: Do you remember as a child singing “Ring Around The Rosie”? It is unknown what the earliest version of the rhyme was or when it began. The game has a group of children form a ring, dance in a circle around a person, and stoop or fall to the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Don’t Let Your Guard Down

Contributed by Thomas Swope on Jun 14, 2018

A study in the book of Numbers 25: 1 – 18

Numbers 25: 1 – 18 Don’t let your guard down 25 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, ...read more

Denomination: Calvary Chapel