Sermons on Starting Poorly:

Empty Promises - Easter

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Mar 31, 2010

How can God fill you up if you are not empty first? God allows emptiness in your life for one reason - You are empty - Now God has the opportunity to fill you up.

I was assigned to retrieve box number 673 A. I took my little pink piece of paper with my assignment for the afternoon - find box #673 A, Humana Hospital, February 1970. I had just started to working at this medical file warehouse and so I naively thought that the boss was starting me off slow, I ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hannah: She Got Up

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Sep 25, 2009

This message encourages people to get up out of their depression and loneliness in order to discover something new God may be trying to do in their lives.

Hannah, They Got Up September 27, 2009 1 Samuel 1:1-28 Hebrews 11:1-7 How many of you remember the person who taught you how to ride a bicycle? How many of you remember either your foot slipping off the pedal and you stopping, or you going wobbly and hit something, or you simply fell down ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:1-28

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Overcoming A Positive Self Image

Contributed by Tim Bond on Sep 14, 2002

Sometimes the challenge human beings face is overcoming their own pride.

Read Text: Luke 18:9-14 It has been one of the watch words of the past 10+ years. All sorts of societal ills have been blamed on the tendency of people to consider themselves more soberly than they ought. We’ve heard the catch-phrases, low self-esteem, a poor self-image. I have heard statistics ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Do You See? Series

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Jul 29, 2009

When we look through the eyes of God at the people around us, we don’t see the surface. We don’t see the socially acceptable or expected. We don’t see just the past and the mistakes. We see a lost child of God, and we see an opportunity to share a stor

Do You See? Breaking Boundaries 4 Feb 8, 2009 Luke 7:36-50 Intro: Charlie chaplin face illusion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_vtZXELRK8&eurl=http://www.moillusions.com/2006/06/charlie-chaplin-hollow-face-illusion.html&feature=player_embedded The British guy narrating the clip makes a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Denomination: Baptist

Justice, Mercy, Humility Series

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Aug 4, 2010

Christianity is fundamentally about a relationship and so not a contract such as I do "x" for God, and God does "y" for me.

Justice, Mercy, Humility: Series: Fundamentals Micah 6:1-8 July 25, 2010 Intro: Fundamentals. A child has to learn balance in order to learn to walk. A business has to have more money coming in than going out. A family has to understand the basic rules of the Monopoly game before they can ...read more

Scripture: Micah 6:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

The Faith Factor Series

Contributed by Sam Baker on Mar 25, 2012

If you were able to pick a story from the Bible that showed you a form of faith that you, personally, could relate to . . . do you know who it is you would pick?

The Faith Factor Part 4: : "Faith Says Never Quit!" If you were able to pick a story from the Bible that showed you a form of faith that you, personally, could relate to . . . do you know who it is you would pick? To pick out a particular person, you would have to base it on what you have ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52

Denomination: Pentecostal

Responding To Criticism

Contributed by John Gaston on Jun 14, 2015

A study on the 7 ways King David responded to criticism.

RESPONDING TO CRITICISM 2 Sam. 16:5-14 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: $20 Short 1. A Post Office worker, at the main sorting office, found an unstamped, poorly hand-written envelope, addressed to God. He opens it and discovers it is from an elderly lady, distressed because all her savings -- $200 -- have ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 16:5-14

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Turning The World Upside-Down

Contributed by Horace Wimpey on Mar 26, 2016

Easter changed the world. This sermon looks at how the message and method of Jesus turned the world upside down. Finally it looks at the motivation for what Jesus did for us at Easter.

TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN Acts 17:1-6 (NKJV, NLT) for audio, video of this sermon, www.thecreekmonroe.com Intro: In Charles Schultz’s cartoon, “Peanuts,” Lucy is seen saying that if she was in charge of the world, she’d change everything. Charlie says, “That ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Growing Your Faith

Contributed by Chidi Ejeagba on Jan 8, 2019

Faith failure is life failure, everything may fail, please don’t let faith fail. Money may fail, career may fail, if all this things fail and faith is still in place, you can still recover all.

INTRODUCTION When God speaks, everything and everyone hears and responds. He spoke to the wind, the wind heard. He spoke to fish, fish heard and brought money out. The situation in your life will hear him this morning and will respond. As I was preparing for this message, I prayed and told God that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31, Hebrews 11:6

The Parables Of Jesus: The Lost Sheep & The Lost Coin Series

Contributed by Justin Steckbauer on Apr 15, 2022

Time and again in the New Testament we see Jesus sharing parables and stories related to shepherds and sheep. It’s very very common. From psalm 23, talking about the rod and staff of the shepherd, to Jesus calling himself “the gate for the sheep” it’s throughout the scriptures.

“Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Denomination: Salvation Army

Worship And Justice

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on May 28, 2023

We deplore the loss of morality, the loss of civility, the loss of social stability - and yet how many of us recognize that those are only the deeper symptoms of a greater loss, the loss of our sense of accountability before God?

Judah, the Hebrews’ southern kingdom, was big on denial. By 740 BC, when Isaiah began to preach, the brutal and ambitious kingdom of Assyria had amply demonstrated their intentions and abilities. They were bent on conquering Egypt, the prize of the Mediterranean, and had to conquer everything else ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:1-20, Hosea 4:1-6, Amos 5:21-23, 1 John 2:9-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Avoiding A Critical Spirit

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jul 19, 2023

There is a place for honestly confronting others when done in a loving and gracious way. Yet maturity means learning to guard our hearts from an unhelpful, critical spirit, as we'll learn in this story of Miriam and Aaron's criticism of Moses.

It’s summertime folks. And the heat of Texas is here. And that heat causes many to be on edge—on edge enough to gripe or complain about the smallest of things. Do we have any complainers here today? This coming November, I will have been pastor here at SEBC for 27 years. Through those years I ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 12:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Prayer, Not Despair Series

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Jan 12, 2023

Every time you feel yourself being anxious about your job, your children, your spouse, the bills, the church . . . stop where you are and spend a few minutes fervently praying to God about it. I promise that by the end of that prayer you will feel an amazing peace.

A. Philippians 4:6 (READ) 1. How many of you believe that PRAYER can change OUTCOMES and CIRCUMSTANCES? ILLUSTRATION: One Sunday morning as the Youth Pastor made his way to his 5th grade Sunday School Class, he walked in to find one of his students sitting alone in the back of the classroom ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Memorial Day - 2006

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on May 26, 2006

1- Remember the deceased 2- Remember the living

INTRO.- ILL.- Thomas Monaghan is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza. From 1970 to 1985, Domino’s grew from a small debt-ridden chain to the second largest pizza company in America. When asked to account for the phenomenal growth of the company, Monaghan ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:3-5

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Headed To Jerusalem

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 16, 2006

A sermon on discipleship from Luke 9.

Sermon for 7/16/2006 Luke 9:51-62 Introduction: David Ogden (The New Reformation) tells the story of Oliver Wendell Holmes. "Holmes once boarded a train, but was unable to find the ticket. After watching Holmes fumble through his pocket in growing dismay, the conductor politely said, ’It’s all ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:51-62

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ