Sermons on Prison Of Despair:

An Old Testament Christmas

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 26, 2000

Christmas begins in the OT with the promise of the Messiah.

Christmas really begins in the Old Testament. The promise of a coming Messiah filled the pages of the Hebrew Bible, and the Jews were watching for his coming. It is interesting that the Jews use a different arrangement of the Old Testament books than we do. After the first five books there is a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7

Denomination: Methodist

Need-Oriented Evangelism

Contributed by Brien Sims on Aug 4, 2008

Judgment for our benevolence on earth

I have a question for everyone here today; especially those who have been Christians for many years. What happens after faith? We finally accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, start reading our Bibles, try to learn to pray and then what do we do? Isn’t their another step in this journey of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

"Throne Of Judgment; Altar Of Grace"

Contributed by Clark Tanner on May 23, 2005

God’s holiness reveals man’s sin; His grace forgives. But first the man must come to a stark realization.

It is the aim of the enemy of our souls and therefore the way of this passing world, to blur the lines. To fade black and darken white until all is gray and diluted and washed out. To render truth a matter of irrelevance and to diminish personal identity until the individual is measured as ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-7

Denomination: Orthodox

Saints In The Complaint Department Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

The God who built us this way is telling us by these negative Psalms that we have to get rid of the poison or we will have a breakdown. Our health on all levels: physical, mental, and spiritual, depends on our being able to remove the pollution from our inner life.

It is always a shock when an innocent little child all of the sudden lets loose with a swear word, or some other sort of vulgar language. We are startled because we had no idea the pollution of the world had seeped into their little mind. We have the same emotion when we read the Bible, and all ...read more

Bouncing Back (Part Two)

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on May 30, 2021

Last week we looked at the story of Joseph. He bounced back from multiple situations: sold into slavery, a false accusation, betrayal, etc. But he wasn't the only one who bounced back from multiple hardships; Paul did too.

BOUNCING BACK (part two) There are many personal stories of people who bounced back from a bad situation. We're bouncing back from the pandemic with vaccinations and loosening COVID restrictions. People have bounced back from having COVID. Churches have bounced back from having to shut down ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, 2 Corinthians 11:24-27, 2 Timothy 3:10-11

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Thanksgiving Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Feb 10, 2018

The apostle bursts forth into thanksgiving for the comfort that has come to him in the midst of his distress and affliction.

March 8, 2014 Tom Lowe The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians Thanksgiving (1:3–11) 2nd Corinthians 1:3-11 (NKJV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Denomination: Baptist

From Famine To Feasting

Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Sep 8, 2014

For many Christians, there is a famine for God's Word that can easily affect their ability to face their problems. But it is possible to have spiritual feasting in the insurmountable riches of Christ. Let us learn from these characters from Genesis.

FROM FAMINE TO FEASTING Text: GENESIS 43:1, 16, 31 Genesis 43: 1 "Now the famine was still severe in the land." Genesis 43: 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 43:1-34

Denomination: Nazarene

Dangerous Prayers: Send Me! Series

Contributed by Jefferson Williams on Dec 27, 2020

Isaiah experienced the presence of God, which led to an awareness of his sin, so he cried for mercy and received amazing grace. There was only only logical response - Here am I. Send me. [Based on Craig Groeschel's book, "Dangerous Prayers"]

Dangerous Prayers: Send me! Isaiah 6:1-6 Pastor Jefferson M. Williams Chenoa Baptist Church 12-27-2020 In My Mind I’m Going to Carolina In the winter of 1990, I became involved in a college outreach at the University of Memphis. I was tired of the party life and was searching for a purpose for ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Fragility And Brokenness

Contributed by Monty Newton on Jan 12, 2015

Life batters and breaks us in a variety of ways, but then God makes us stronger and more beautiful in that very fragility and brokenness.

Title: Fragility and Brokenness Text: II Corinthians 4:6-10; 12:7-10 Thesis: Life batters and breaks us in a variety of ways, but then God makes us stronger and more beautiful in our fragility and brokenness. In that this is the 1st Sunday after Epiphany we are once again reminded of how Christ ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:6-10

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

To Go Down - A Lesson From Jonah's Life

Contributed by Jm Raja Lawrence on Oct 16, 2023

Have you ever tried to escape God's calling? Explore Jonah's journey, where rebellion led him down, and find the path upward toward God's grace and purpose.

To Go Down - A Lesson from Jonah's Life Introduction: Have you ever tried to run away from God? Have you ever felt like He was asking you to do something too hard, too scary, or too unpleasant? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just ignored His voice and went your own way? If you ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:3, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 139:7-12, Isaiah 55:8-9, Acts 17:26-27, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Jonah 1:5, Romans 1:18-20, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 11:28-30, Jonah 2:2-3, Jeremiah 32:27, 1 John 1:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Jonah 2:1-9, Jonah 2:10, Jonah 3:1-2, Jonah 3:3-4, Jonah 3:5-10, Jonah 4:11, Matthew 12:39-41, John 1:46, Philippians 2:5-8, John 17:5, Romans 5:8, Matthew 12:40, Romans 6:4, Philippians 2:9-11, Ephesians 2:4-10  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Let Your Dreams Die Series

Contributed by Larry Thompson on Feb 16, 2003

Every leader knows that there will be challenges to the dreams God has given. Sometimes the attack is so great we live in danger of the dream dying. This message deals with this issue.

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP – PART THREE “DON’T LET YOUR DREAMS DIE” GENESIS 37:2-11 ©Larry L. Thompson (2003 INTRODUCTION Illustration of Frederick Nolan. Nolan was fleeing from his enemies during a time of persecution in North Africa. One night he fell exhausted, into a wayside cave, fully expecting ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:2-11

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Depression; Its Causes And Cure - Philippians 1:12-21 Series

Contributed by Scott Turansky on Feb 11, 2022

I think if we were to take the book of Philippians and we were to try to understand emotions, there would be a map that goes like this with these three particular kind of emotions. One is anger. The second is sadness. And the third is anxiety.

The book of Philippians is a very emotionally transparent book. It's the most emotional book in the New Testament. That's because Paul is sharing his emotions with them, but he's also processing his emotions with them, and he's also encouraging them to process their emotions in a ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12-21

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Time Of God’s Favor

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 5, 2011

God shows his wondrous love and provision through His 1)Covenant (Isaiah 49:8-10), 2) Care (Isaiah 49:11-14), and 3) Compassion (Isaiah 49:15-16)

Each year, from November 5 to 11, Canadians join together to celebrate Veterans’ Week. During this week, hundreds of commemorative ceremonies and events will take place across the country to remember and recognize the achievements of our Veterans and honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice. ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-16

Denomination: Other

Sharing In His Suffering Series

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 5, 2016

Through our relationship to Christ we share in the fellowship of suffering in general and we Share in His Suffering through: 1) The Father in Suffering (2 Cor. 1:3-4), 2) The Son in Suffering (2 Cor. 1:5-6) & 3) The Saints in Suffering (2 Cor. 1:7)

In his book (and now feature movie), The Insanity of Obedience, Nik Ripken tells about meeting Dmitri in the former USSR. Born of Christian parents, Dmitri found himself and his family living under communism in an area where the nearest church was a three-day walk away. He started teaching his ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Denomination: Other

Smyrna: Unto Death Series

Contributed by Gordon Pike on Jan 17, 2021

Whatever the Christians were going through in Smyrna … whatever we are going through in our lives right now … Jesus not only knows what we are going through, He’s experienced it Himself.

Imagine having to hide to do what we’re doing right now because if we get caught, we would be arrested and tortured and made to renounce our faith publicly … or be executed. That was the situation and daily reality for the little church in the beautiful city of Smyrna. Smyrna is located 35 ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11

Denomination: United Methodist