Sermons on mulberry: showing 106-120 of 509

What Does It Take To Be A Church? Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jul 11, 2004

The early Christians devoted themselves to: 1. The Apostle’s teaching - learning. 2. The Fellowship - worship. 3. Breaking Bread - friendship. 4. Prayer

This description of the early church is truly amazing. Something had happened to these otherwise ordinary people. The people who were a part of this church no longer thought of themselves — their own rights and possessions — their whole identity was a group identity. They found their meaning ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Denomination: Methodist

Redemptive Relationships: Our Relationship With God Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Oct 13, 2003

If we are to enjoy our relationship with God, we must realize 1. God is for us. 2. You have to want it. 3. You have to enter into it completely.

Ferdinand Magellan was the Spanish explorer who led the first expedition to sail around the world. As he approached the tip of Argentina, in the year 1520, he came to the region he named Tierra del Fuego (land of fire), because there were natives on the shore tending several large fires. But as ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:24-28

Denomination: Methodist

The Dance Of Law And Grace

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Apr 30, 2006

There are ditortions and blessings of both law and grace. It is not one or the other, but a dance of the two.

Elizabeth Elliot, in her book The Liberty of Obedience, tells the story of a young man who said to an older Christian, “I am in earnest about forsaking ‘the world’ and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?” The response he received was this: ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:1-12

Denomination: Methodist

How Can I Experience God?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 22, 2006

1. Confession 2. Repentence 3. Conversion 4. Faith

I just spent a horrible week in the Ozarks. Two friends and I planned a canoe trip and had been preparing for months. If you followed the weather two weeks ago, you know there was a line of storms that kept sweeping through the South, one right after the other. Our campground had to be ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-17

Denomination: Methodist

The Blessed Hope

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 28, 2006

It is the "blessed hope" because: 1. God is in control. 2. There will be final justice. 3. We have hope. 4. We have the power to overcome.

I remember sitting in an auditorium listening to a woman who was supposed to be an expert on the second coming of Jesus Christ. She had charts and a very large painting of Jesus returning to the earth. She was explaining how the church (the believers and followers of Jesus) would be “raptured” ...read more

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Denomination: Methodist

New Wineskins

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 15, 2005

1. Wineskins were made to be filled with wine. 2. New wine calls for new wineskins. 3. Wineskins were made for pouring.

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician and philosopher. In his writings, which were entitled Pensees, he traces the logical progression of his thought on many subjects. But something happened to Pascal which was beyond logic and rational thought. After his death, his servant found a piece of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-13

Denomination: Methodist

Thoughts On Heaven

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 11, 2006

1.Heven is a place of joy. 2. Heaven is descibed as a city. 3. Heaven takes seriously the difficulties we are facing now.

I was tremendously impacted by a funeral I once had. The service was for the mother of a member of the church who was a great Christian woman. During the service, one of her former pastors stood to share his gratitude for the life of this woman. He was retired from ministry at the time, and he ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-7, Hebrews 11:13-16

Denomination: Methodist

True Manhood

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 18, 2006

True manhood is marked by: 1. Sacrifice 2. Responsibility 3. Faithfulness

The Arrow shirt company ran an ad in magazines for Father’s Day. It used an acrostic using the word FATHER. It is a takeoff on the acrostic for mother: “M is for the miracle of Being. O is for its origin in love. T is for the tenderness of seeing. H is for a home no wind can move, and so on.” ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

What Does It Mean To Be The Family Of God?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 13, 2006

What does it mean to be the family of God? What does it look like for us to live in community? 1. A commitment to the hard work of relationships. 2. Having compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 3. Risk

Max Lucado, in his book In the Grip of Grace tells the story of the family of God in the form of a parable. He writes, “God has enlisted us in his navy and placed us on his ship. The boat has one purpose — to carry us safely to the other shore. This is no cruise ship. . . . We aren’t called to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Denomination: Methodist

Broadway Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 29, 2005

Why is the narrow way the road less traveled? Because 1. It is difficult. 2. It is against the majority. 3. It includes persecution.

Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). (A spontneous skit can be done here. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Denomination: Methodist

Entering The Harvest Field

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 12, 2005

Jesus: 1. Saw the crowds. 2. Had compassion. 3. Called to his disciples.

The story goes that Mark Twain loved to go fishing, but he hated to catch fish. The problem was he went fishing to relax, and catching fish ruined his relaxation, since he had to take the fish off the hook and do something with it. When he wanted to relax by doing nothing, people thought he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38

Denomination: Methodist

Blessed Are The Hurting Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 19, 2005

A look at the Beatitudes and how an understanding of the Kingdom of God, present and future, helps us to face the difficulties of life.

Mary Lewis tells this story: “Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., is the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. When his daughter Zoe graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1992, he told this story that happened when she was just three years old. Sanders came home from work one ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:20-23, Luke 6:27-31

Denomination: Methodist

What Is Faith?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Apr 22, 2007

1. Faith is born from doubt. 2. Faith brings a reward.

A recent headline in the Sacramento Bee read: “Ignorance of the Good Book Reaches Biblical Proportions.” You can say that pun again! The other day I read about a chain of supermarkets in the U.K. which decided to lecture shoppers about Easter. In a press release sent to the London Times ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Worldviews

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 20, 2006

A look at the religious groups of Jesus day and how they were affected by their culture (as might be): 1. Zealots 2.Phariasees 3. Saduccees 4. Scribes 5. Herodians 6. Essenes

How would you like it if someone spit on you? In our cultural setting it would be a sign of disrespect, an attempt to shame and humiliate a person. But for some cultures, it has an entirely different meaning. I am reading a wonderful book entitled Christianity Rediscovered. It is written by a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:18-34

Denomination: Methodist

The Bread

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 27, 2006

Do you want bread, or The Bread? Are you willing to live a life of abandon for Christ?

Plato’s Cave is an allegory told by the ancient Greek philosopher. In the allegory he tells of people who live in a cave who have been chained there since childhood. Their limbs have atrophied and their heads are fixed so that they can only look at one wall in the cave. Behind them is a fire. ...read more

Scripture: John 6:53-69

Denomination: Methodist