Sermons on Rhetoric:

By What Authority?

Contributed by Chris Surber on Sep 24, 2008

Jesus expressed His authority as the Son of God most fully in the gift of repentance; the offer of salvation by faith.

“By What Authority?” Matthew 21:23-32 Introduction A young second lieutenant at Fort Bragg discovered that he had no change when he was about to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, “Do you have change for a dollar?” The private said cheerfully, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:23-32

Denomination: Christian Church

Pray And Believe! Series

Contributed by Darryl Klassen on Sep 7, 2007

Based on the Parable of the Persistent widow, this sermon encourages people to pray and pray and pray again. We preached these sermons in conjunction with the Pray 21 project that brings youth and adults together to pray for 21 days.

BELIEVE AND PRAY! Believe and pray! This may sound backwards. Should we not pray believing that God will answer our prayers? Yes, but this simple little exercise of semantics puts the foundation of faith before the act of prayer. Many of us pray but few of us believe that our prayers will be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Denomination: Mennonite

Strange Territory

Contributed by Jimmy Chapman on Jan 3, 2008

"for ye have not passed this way heretofore." Joshua’s officers were saying to the Israelites, "You’re about to take a journey to where you’ve never been before. You’re about to go down a road that is new to you.

STRANGE TERRITORY Joshua 3:1-4 The phrase ". . . for ye have not passed this way heretofore," always comes to mind at the beginning of a new year. 2007 is in the books. It is done, over, gone for ever. The only thing left to do is to look forward to 2008 and hopefully anticipate the ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 3:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

A Family Resemblance Series

Contributed by Jim Heidebrecht on Jul 2, 2007

Sermon 8 in the Galatians Series. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul compares the Galatian believers to Abraham. They are children of Abraham because of their faith. As believers our identity comes from Christ, as a

04/22/2007 A Family Resemblance INTRO: Have you ever felt out of place, like you didn’t belong Me in High School: a man without a country (Hicks, Jocks, Freaks, Geeks) - uncomfortable doesn’t begin to cover it. It is much worse when you are in a totally different culture – where you don’t ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:6-9

Denomination: Baptist

Nowhere To Rest! (Luke 9:57-62)

Contributed by David Smith on Oct 27, 2007

It hurts when we lose someone we love, and it hurts because we love them. Love and pain are never far from each other. You can’t have one without the other.

Q: Why did the Palestinian cross the road? A: We don’t know either, but if he wont’ tell us what he was doing, crossing a road without a permit, we will detain him until we find out! I was looking for a joke with a jarring ending to introduce what I consider to be a particularly jarring Gospel ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-62

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Why God

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Mar 5, 2007

A sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Lent About Suffering

Third Sunday in Lent Luke 13:1-9 "Why God?" "There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Foolish Wisdom Series

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jul 21, 2009

We don’t have to spruce the Gospel up.... Our job is to simply tell the story as clearly as possible – the power resides in the Gospel, not in our eloquence.

Foolish Wisdom 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI October 19, 2008 Series: The Church in Crisis There is a major flaw in Christianity that no one seems to want to talk about. It is the elephant in the room, the gorilla in the corner, the unsightly blemish on the face that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Prepared For Spiritual Growth

Contributed by Tim Patrick on Aug 17, 2009

This sermon helps us evaluate our preparedness and understanding of spiritual growth.

Introduction: Do you remember, as a child, the anticipation of growing taller? I remember my brother and I would stand beside a doorframe in our home and use a ruler to mark our growth. We would mark a spot above our heads and then measure down to get our height. I do not know that we had any ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:17-18

Denomination: Baptist

The Name We Claim Series

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 10, 2009

Early believers were able to face opposition and tribulation because they focused upon their identity, following Jesus. What is our identity?

Sometimes, we get suckered in by the idea that identity and relationship are not important. We buy into Shakespeare’s rhetorical question and answer from Act II, Scene II of Romeo and Juliet: What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. We ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:1-22

Denomination: *other

Can I Get A Lift?

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 6, 2009

August 1989: If we want to be lifted up out of our unhappiness through worship, we must bring our whole selves to the worship experience and must pray passionately even our negative wishes.

I recently became aware that some folks shop for a church much as you would shop for a car or a home appliance. In talking with some people about joining our church, they said that they were shopping – that’s their word, not mine -- that they were shopping for a church by systematically attending ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

Does Jesus Really Care Who Wins The Game?

Contributed by Bob Joyce on Jan 2, 2011

Jesus reveals the four essential plays He is going to use as He competes in the real super bowl of life.

By tonight, the endless hoopla, the frenzied advertising and, almost incidentally, the football game itself will be over. Super Bowl Sunday will have come and gone for another year. One more observation: The Super Bowl wouldn't be a true sporting event without an endless string of both pre-game ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Denomination: Baptist

Is Your Church A Cruise-Ship Or A Battleship?

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Jan 5, 2011

Which image better describes a church? Your church? I know, it’s a metaphor. All metaphors break down at some point. When making a choice, our natural inclination is to choose the cruise ship over the battleship any day.

Opening illustration: watch an illustrative audio-video clip Introduction: On the surface we would believe that the early church in Acts was blessed with outstanding growth due to the anointed preaching of the apostles; their balanced practices that would evolve into much of our church programming ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:11-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

People Of Praise Series

Contributed by Mark Opperman on Mar 7, 2011

God's people are those who trust Him for their righteousness and receive their praise from Him, not from man. The true Jew (from Judah- Praise) is one who is experiencing transformation from the inside out.

People of Praise Romans 2:17-29 Intro: One of the lessons I’m beginning to learn in my life and ministry is that less can often be more. Less exercise can become more health problems. Less food can become more quality of life. Less is also more when life becomes too complicated and we try to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 2:17-29

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Victory Over Danger Series

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Mar 20, 2011

Trusting Jesus through lifes storms. (PowerPoint slides to accompany this talk are available on request – email: gcurley@gcurley.info)

Sermon Outline: THE DISCIPLES HAD: his promise (vs 35) his presence (vs 38) his person (vs 41) Sermon Content: Ill: • Two explorers were on a jungle safari; • When suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. • “Keep calm” the first explorer whispered. • “Remember what we read in ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

Denomination: Brethren

"Thomas Twin Didymus”

Contributed by Ken Harris on Apr 19, 2009

The purpose of this sermon is to inspire the hearers to affirm to others that believers are often inclined to look at life through the eyes of gloom, and need VISUAL EVIDENCE before accepting CHRIST at His Word.

19 April 2009 Second Sunday of Easter U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris Fortress Chapel Contingency Operation Site (C.O.S.) Sykes Tall-afar, Iraq BIG IDEA: Believers are often inclined to look upon life with the eyes of gloom and need VISUAL PROOF before accepting CHRIST at His ...read more

Scripture: John 20:24-29

Denomination: Pentecostal