Sermons on Run In Vain:

How To Go From Bitter To Better Series

Contributed by David Owens on Mar 29, 2021

Bitterness is an emotion that can eat us from the inside out like poison or cancer. Like the biblical character Joseph, there are things we can do to keep bitterness from destroying us.

A. Abe Lemons was head basketball coach at the University of Texas for six years starting in 1976. 1. Lemons turned the Texas Longhorn basketball program around, but when DeLoss Dodds took over as the athletic director they soon were butting heads, and at the end of the 1982 season, Dodds fired ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:14-15, Ephesians 4:31-32, Matthew 6:12-15, Luke 6:27-28

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Lion And The Lamb Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

A look at the paradoxical qualities of Jesus - baby and Savior, Lion and Lamb, etc.

Superman. What’s not to like about him? The man of Steel! No one can beat Superman – unless they have Kryptonite. But, without that, he’s all steel. And we like that about Superman, but there’s something else about Superman we like – Clark Kent. We like that he can also be that dorky, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 5:5-6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When God Calls, Say, "Yes” Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

A look at the call of Moses, comparing to our own need to say "Yes" when God calls us to do...anything.

Intro: The following excuses are from a collection of excuses that have actually been turned in at school: • "Ralph was absent yesterday because he had a sore trout." • "Please excuse Joyce from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday she fell off a tree and misplaced her hip." ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Educated Love Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Paul is not knocking the love of the Philippians. Kindergarten love is not bad, but it is no place to level off and be content. A child who does not progress beyond kindergarten is greatly handicapped, and so is the Christian whose love does not abound more and more in knowledge.

The best of Christians make their share of mistakes, but John Turner was apparently trying to get a large portion of his quota of mistakes out of the way all in one day. John was a conscientious pastor who got to his church early one Sunday morning, and he discovered that he had left his sermon ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11

Good Out Of Evil Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Paul never dreamed that his days in prison would be days God would use him to let his light shine through all of history because of the epistles he would write there. We should pray, "Lord this is a bad day I am having, what good can you help me make of it for your glory?"

Luther Burbank, the world famous scientist, worked for years to try and develop a black-petaled lily. He had several thousand experimental lily plants in his laboratory. A sudden cloudburst let loose a flood of rain that they were all washed away. William Stidger tells of sympathizing with him ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12-26

A Theology Of Problems Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 3, 2021

History began with a problem. Problems are more universal than sin, for Jesus had no sin but He had problems. Even before sin, Adam and Eve had a problem. Their problem was, should I obey God or not?

A woman who wanted her apartment painted while she was out of town was very fussy. She insisted that the ceiling be painted the exact shade of her ash tray. The painters after trying to mix this exact shade unsuccessfully finally hit upon a solution to their problem. They painted the ash ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 1:1-4

The Impact Of Influence Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 3, 2021

We are all making history, and influencing eternity, whether we want to or not. The purpose of the Biblical record is that we might see how people of the past have influenced history, and imitate their virtues, and avoid their mistakes

When Cecil B. DeMille was a nine year old boy, and old preacher came to Echo Lake, New Jersey to conduct a series of meetings. Young DeMille attended every morning, but one cold rainy morning he was the only one who showed up. He wondered if that man would preach to one small boy. DeMille ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 1:14-22

Desirable Determination Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 4, 2021

The old saying that where there is a will there is a way is confirmed over and over again. People with a spirit of determination are doing the improbable all the time, and by the grace and providence of God, sometimes even the impossible.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn is one of the great modern examples of the power of determination. He served time in the Siberian waste land for making a disparaging remark about Stalin in a letter. He endured six years of imprisonment, when he suddenly discovered the joy of writing. He was suffering for ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 1:14-22

Easter Is Everything

Contributed by Brian Bill on Apr 5, 2021

Because Easter is everything, Jesus must be everything to you.

The word “everything” refers to “something that is extremely or most important.” If you believe someone or something is everything, you’re saying that person or that thing is most important in your life. Barry White made these words popular in a song from 1974: “My first, my last, my everything ...read more

Scripture: John 20:11-18

Denomination: Baptist

Hope Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 5, 2021

How can you tell if a Christian is exercising this living hope? They will be expecting good to come out of all circumstances. They will be focusing on the best and not the worst. They will seeking for ways to do instead of grumbling about what can't be done.

Billy Graham in his book Hope For The Troubled Heart tells the story of the lone survivor of a shipwreck who was marooned on an uninhabited island. He managed to build a hut in which he put everything he had saved from the wreck. He prayed to God for rescue as he daily scanned the horizon for a ...read more

Lessons From Lazarus

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Apr 6, 2021

Next in series on John. Looks at lessons to be learned from the resurrection of Lazarus

John 11 (1) You parents and grandparents, aren’t there some accounts from the Bible you love telling your children about? Like, David standing up against the giant Goliath, and whipping him with a stone. Jonah being swallowed by a great fish, Moses parting the Red Sea, Noah and the Flood, Jesus ...read more

Scripture: John 11:1-53

Denomination: Baptist

My Need For Righteousness Series

Contributed by Scott Maze on Jun 3, 2021

Evil is more complex that you imagine. There’s greater depth to evil that you can comprehend. Evil is so widespread that it demands you consider there’s a supernatural and spiritual network of evil ones instigating criminal and immoral behavior.

Sgt. Steven McQueen of Charlie Company of First Battalion and 28th Infantry Regiment was recently shot in the head with a bullet from a machine gun. He was around twenty feet away from an insider attack in Afghanistan in 2018. An insider attack is when Taliban fighters pose as friendly Afghan ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:14

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Forgivness Series

Contributed by Scott Maze on Jun 3, 2021

One of the things I love about this prayer is that it doesn’t pretend there aren’t real problems around us. It confronts the real needs in the world – pain and hunger. The Lord’s Prayer is designed to change our priorities and to reverse our thinking.

This is the fourth message for us to look at the Lord’s Prayer. And it’s the richest single source in the entire Bible of information on how to pray. One story stands out about the importance of the Lord’s Prayer in the life of a Christian is from a gentleman who attends at NRH, Mike O’Neil. Mike ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:9-15

Denomination: Baptist

How To Give God's Best To Others Series

Contributed by Scott Maze on Jun 4, 2021

God wants to change how you feel. God wants to change what you desire. God wants to change how you work. God wants to change how you act. God wants to change how you love.

Today, I am praying for two families with rebellious children. Children who are now adults and addicted to drugs. These families need hope. I am praying for Breenan, a little preemie baby at a Little Rock hospital. Breenan was born seven weeks too early. I am praying for young newlywed husband ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8-12

Denomination: Baptist

God Is Bigger Than My Insecurities Series

Contributed by Scott Maze on Jun 9, 2021

You’ll never truly find happiness until you are concerned for other people’s joy.

Insecurity is the general unease we experience when we lack certainty and confidence in life. Today, I want you to see how a big God secures your peace, composure and happiness. The Bible shows us where the inner springs of joy and harmony are found in a believer’s life. Find Philippians 4 with ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-20

Denomination: Baptist