Sermons on Matt:

Salt Of The Earth

Contributed by Matt Barker on Jul 13, 2008

Explaining the importance of us being referred to as the salt of the Earth.

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” These word were spoken by Jesus in His “Sermon on the Mount” How many of us have heard ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Accepting Forgiveness

Contributed by Matt Barker on Jul 13, 2008

As Christians, we often work hard at forgiving others; we need to learn to accept God’s forgiveness of ourselves.

Accepting Forgiveness Let’s open our bibles this morning to Psalm 103. In this Psalm, David is praising God for his tremendous love for His people. We’ll come back to this in just a minute. Now, we all know that David wasn’t perfect. Let’s take a look at one of his most famous stories. One ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ezekiel -- The Valley Of The Dry Bones

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Mar 5, 2008

In this Sermon and Old Ezekiel addresses the congregation and reflects upon his life as a prophet and the Valley of the Dry Bones. Bible quotes are from the ESV.

Preaching Outline 030908 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Hey there. Do you ever have one of those days when you just feel nostalgic? Don’t always know what it is, but I think it was those few days of warmer weather that got me thinking. Whenever it warms up, the memories just come flooding back to me. There ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Denomination: Lutheran

Palm Sunday: I Saw The King!

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Mar 12, 2008

A monologe from the point of view of a man who saw Jesus’ Triumphal Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem

Preaching Outline 031608 John 12:12-19 Thanks for welcoming me in for a little bit and letting me rest. Really appreciate your hospitality, you’ve made me feel very welcome, wanted, even important! Felt like about to have a parade or something in my honor! You are too kind. Speaking of ...read more

Scripture: John 12:12-19

Denomination: Lutheran

Step By Step

Contributed by Matt Zurowski on Apr 3, 2006

A sermon preached to the staff of a Bible camp preparing for their summer ministry

(Walk back and forth) We do it everyday… we do it while doing many other things like talking on our cell phone, reading a book, talking and laughing, looking at the stars, holding hands with someone, etc. I am doing it right now! What am I doing? (WALKING!) Webster defines walk as: to proceed ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-5, Ephesians 4:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Wise Investing

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Aug 15, 2009

What kind of investment advice have you gotten lately? In Ephesians 5 we learn about what REAL investing is!

There is a lot of talk lately about what is wise and unwise. We see this especially in relation to the financial world. With economic times being tough, it seems that there are “experts” popping up everywhere like weeds to tell us how to invest wisely. They tell us that we need to diversify our ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:6-21

Denomination: Lutheran

What Are You Hiding?

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Aug 19, 2009

In Mark 7 Jesus confronts the Pharisees and Scribes who were hiding behind Man-made rules. What do you hide behind? Thankfully, God doesn’t hide from you.

Mark 7:1-13 Anne and I were blessed to go on vacation a couple of weeks ago. We looked forward to it, but we were a little nervous about how Killian would do on the long flights. For a 7 month old baby, I think he did great. The last leg of the journey was a little much for him though and he ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-13

Denomination: Lutheran

Utterly Amazing Grace

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Aug 30, 2009

In these times, can anything amaze us? Look to the cross and see the answer is a resounding, YES!

Sermon 090609                                  Mark 7:31-37             When I was in California for our family reunion had a great time playing with my Nephews.  It ended up being a walk down, “memory lane” for me because the toys they were playing with were toys that my brothers and I played with ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:31-37

Denomination: Lutheran

Dwelling In The Circumstances

Contributed by Matt Barker on Aug 30, 2009

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the circumstances we find ourselves in that we miss God.

Dwelling in the Circumstances Life Outside the Green Grass... The Life of Joseph Genesis 37-50 For those of us that make New Year’s resolutions to read our bible all the way through, we have probably at the very least made it through the book of Genesis quite a few times. Today I want to talk ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Raw Honesty

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Sep 9, 2009

"I believe, help my unbelief" is a confession of sin and of faith that takes real courage to make. In the Cross we know what God’s response to us is and forever will be.

Mark 9:14-29 Today the Word of God that engages us is from Mark chapter 9. In the middle of these verses is one God-Inspired phrase that has been a real help to me on my own journey of faith. Words spoken first by a man who had the courage to be truly honest with himself, and honest with God. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:14-21

Denomination: Lutheran

God's Dysfunctional Family

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Sep 16, 2009

God has love for his Dysfunctional Family. God shows his love for us by dying for this family and restoring us and reconciling us to Him.

Sermon 092009 Jeremiah 11:18-20; Mark 9:30-37 Dysfunctional Families. There are so many different ideas, emotions, memories, that come to mind when we hear these words. People tell me about growing up in homes where they knew they would move away as soon as they had an opportunity. Other ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 11:18-20

Denomination: Lutheran

It's All In The Approach

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Oct 2, 2009

In Mark 10 we learn from the Pharisees and from some kids on how we approach Jesus. Do we try to justify ourselves, or be justified by God?

Mark 10:2-13 So, usually I like to have my sermons done by Wednesday or so, and I worked very hard to get this one done on Wednesday. I wrote a sermon using the Gospel lesson that talked about marriage and divorce. And after I wrote it, I read through it before I went home and realized it was ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:2-13

Denomination: Lutheran

The Pull Of The Cross

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Oct 14, 2009

In life there are so many different forces pulling on us. We are pulled one way by fear, and another by self-righteousness. But thank God that the Cross is always at the center, and nothing is more powerful than the pull of God’s mercy and grace.

Mark 10:17-22; Mark 10:23-31 This week we are going to be looking at our Gospel lesson. I wanted to preach on the Gospel last week (maybe you wished I did too), but I held off, because this week and last week’s reading need to go together. So really, we are going to be looking at both lessons ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Denomination: Lutheran

Reformation Trapeze

Contributed by Matt Hoffmann on Oct 23, 2009

We learn about the most important aspects of the Reformation through the example of the Trapeze artist...

Sermon 102509 Reformation Sunday Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36 Happy Reformation Sunday! What is it that we are celebrating today? That’s right, October 31, 1517 is the day that a Professor of Theology and Monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses onto the door of the Chapel at Wittenburg. And ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:19-28

Denomination: Lutheran

Busy-Ness

Contributed by Matt Barker on Nov 1, 2009

Have you become so busy in life that you have forgotten your first love?

Being too busy Revelations 2:2-4 How many of us have become so busy and weary that we have lost our first love? Show Video == A father and his young daughter were great friends and much in each other’s company. Then the father noted a change in his daughter. If he went for a walk, she excused ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:2-4

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational