Sermons on Negative Motivation:

How Do We Please God? Part 4

Contributed by Jim Kane on Nov 7, 2004

We please God as we allow God to make us “new creatures in Christ.”

A few weeks ago I said, “We are always learning – formally and informally. We never stop learning something each and every day of our lives.” A key part of learning is thinking. One of the things that we do when we think is to create opinions about people, places, events, and even ourselves. We ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Denomination: Church Of God

How The Church Must Live According To The Gospel Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

We’re to please God, not ourselves and we’re to love one another; to seek their welfare above our own. The Christian life is always one of growth, of ongoing training, as we press on towards the goal of eternal life.

I think Christians often struggle with knowing how to respond to the pressures we feel to lower our standards of behaviour. And there are two extremes that we come across among Christians. One extreme thinks we should forget those old fashioned mores and get with the times: after all, this is a new ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Denomination: Anglican

Python Spirits

Contributed by Chika Ossai-Ugbah on Jun 23, 2011

It treats demonic avenues through which people are deceived and enslaved even with the supernatural. It calls on believers for discernment and confrontation through prayers

In Acts 16:16, Paul and Silas encountered a young woman who prophesied to them through what Luke calls a “spirit of divination.” However, the Greek word from which “divination” is translated is python. “Python” was a word associated with prophecy amongst the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:16-18

Denomination: Baptist

Betrayal

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Feb 14, 2011

When we think of betrayal we think of people like Benedict Arnold who betrayed George Washington. We think of a spy or double agent. We understand the feelings that come with someone betraying us. It’s an emotional let down. When we’re betrayed we’re hurt

BETRAYAL INTRODUCTION: When we think of betrayal we think of people like Benedict Arnold who betrayed George Washington. We think of a spy or double agent. We might think of reality shows like “Survivor” or “The Mole”. We’ve all experienced it on some level. We ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:14-25

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Different Kind Of Life Series

Contributed by Jeffery Anselmi on Aug 6, 2010

We are called to live a different kind of life.

INTRODUCTION  SLIDE 1  Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about trying to stay clean in an unclean world, or put another way, we were encouraged to stay out of the mud. Last week we looked at why we need to stay out of the mud.  Belonging to Jesus means that we ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Father Knows Best. Series

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 7, 2011

Not all knowledge is good for us, mankind was never meant to decide for himself what is good and what is evil. He was created to depend upon Gods wisdom.

Intro: 1. Vance Havner, "Some things are for us to know, some things are not for us to know. Blessed is the man who learns early which is which. Most of our unhappiness is caused by not knowing what we should know and by trying to know what we are not to know." 2. Not all knowlege is good ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-3

Denomination: Baptist

At The Festival

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Oct 28, 2011

If we believe in the value of our world that bigger is better, our actions and decisions will be controlled by people rather than by God.

At The Festival Oct 23, 2011 John 7:1-24 Intro: Our journey the last little while through the Gospel of John has had, at its core, a desire to discover the Biblical Jesus. To see Jesus as He really comes to us in Scripture, not just as we imagine Him or like Him to be. I came across this on a ...read more

Scripture: John 7:1-24

Denomination: Baptist

Whose Idea Was This?

Contributed by Terry Barnhill on Mar 15, 2016

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT - It’s been said that, “With God, our lives are an open book.” Sometimes, however, we may find ourselves in the middle of the book and still asking, “Whose bright idea was this anyway? It sure wasn’t mine!”

WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS? Isaiah 55:1-9; 54:10 John 14:1-7 Luke 1:36-37; 13:1-9 Ps 63:1-8 1 Jn. 5:4 Rom. 8:28; 12:2 1 Cor. 2:9; 10:1-13 It’s been said that, “With God, our lives are an open book.” Sometimes, however, we may find ourselves in the middle of the book and ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-7

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Is Sin? Series

Contributed by John Gaston on Jun 12, 2021

Does sin still matter? A USA Today article asked, “Is Sin Dead?” The Pope said the world is losing the notion of sin. We look at the nature of sin, the problems it brings, and the only real solution to it.

THE SUMMER OF SIN, PART 1 “WHAT IS SIN?” Jer. 2:2-13 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: THE ANSWER IS SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK 1. An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilds of Northern Canada. They came across a isolated cabin, and decided to check it out. Inside was normal except ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:2-13

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Be A Man Of God Series

Contributed by D. Dewaine Phillips on Jun 14, 2021

Father's Day: It’s important to consider masculinity, because how we act as a man is the example that we’re going to pass on to our children. This passage looks at the advice that Paul gave young Timothy on how to “be a man of God.”

This Father’s Day, we’re going to look at being a man. Masculinity is under attack in America. Just do an Internet search on “masculinity” and see how many times the term “toxic masculinity” pops up; but masculinity can be a good thing when understood properly and when taught to boys and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-12, 1 Timothy 6:20-21

Denomination: Baptist

What Shall We Do With This Man? Series

Contributed by Brian Williams on Sep 28, 2022

As with each major sign, Jesus' words and deeds revealed where the hearts of the people were with God. The question is: How will we respond to His miraculous works and Words?

We are finishing up with John chapter 11 today. Last week we saw how Jesus wept at Lazarus’ grave, commanded the people to roll the stone away from the tomb, and then raised Lazarus from the dead. We talked about how it was a picture of how Jesus can take things that are dead and decaying in our ...read more

Scripture: John 11:45-54

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Queen Of Sheba Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 11, 2021

We want to focus our attention on a woman of the Bible who is probably the most brilliant of them all. We do not know if the Queen of Sheba was beautiful or plain, but the record is clear, she was a brain.

Emma Hart Willard founded the first permanent institution of higher learning for women in America. None of the usual courses for women were even offered. There were no cooking or needle work classes. Instead, she offered zoology, geometry, trigonometry, and other subjects thought to be beyond the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1-13

Where Can I Feel Safe? Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 12, 2021

We want to feel safe. But Jesus has other goals in mind.

WARM AND SAFE: It’s a human instinct to want to feel safe. - There is a part of all of us that wants to feel safe. - We get anxious and concerned when we feel unsafe. - In fact, for many of us, feeling safe becomes the goal. We take out all kinds of insurance to keep our financial status ...read more

Scripture: John 11:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

The Abc’s To Having A Great Year

Contributed by John Gaston on Jan 3, 2020

Having a successful 2020 is as simple as A.B.C. & D.: Accept responsibility for your life, Believe you can change, Clarify your priorities, Don't wait to begin.

THE ABC’S TO HAVING A GREAT YEAR INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: STATING THE OBVIOUS. After a woman sued McDonalds because she wasn’t warned her coffee was hot, companies are changing their instruction manuals and product warning labels to cover themselves from liability. Listen to a few of these: 1. On a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:24, Proverbs 28:13

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Why Doesn’t God Answer Our Prayers?

Contributed by Peter Pilt on Apr 24, 2019

I would propose up front that God does answer our prayers more often than we like to think....Why?

I was asked recently, Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? Here is my answer. I would propose up front that God does answer our prayers more often than we like to think, its just that we aren’t getting the answers we want. God can answer with a No, but we wanted a Yes and so we keep praying, looking ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:13-23, Jeremiah 21:2, Jonah 4:3, Mark 10:34-45, Matthew 26:36-46, Hebrews 2:9, Philippians 2:5-8, Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 10:23, Isaiah 55:8-9, John 14:13-14  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God