Sermons on Stay Close:

Lord, I Am Not Perfect, But I Am A Good Candidate For Heaven? What's Next?

Contributed by Coz Von on Apr 29, 2014

We struggle to stay afloat but God said: trust in My salvation!

Sometimes we tell little white lies, but it is sin and it is big deal to God. it could cost your eternal life in a heartbeat and many think its ok according to the Bible but look again?Scripture reading: 1 Pet 2:11 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts ...read more

Scripture: John 6:28-29, 2 Timothy 4:2, 2 Timothy 6:28-29

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Not Even For An Hour?

Contributed by Beth Garrod-Logsdon on Mar 24, 2008

Not even for an hour could the disciples stay awake and keep watch with Christ. What about us? How difficult is it for us to stay awake and alert to Christ’s commands?

Not Even for an Hour? Matthew 26:36-56 Maundy Thursday 2008 It was the night before Easter 1994. I was a senior in college and at 8:00 p.m. I decided to make the 5 hour drive home to spend Easter with my family. Of course, I hadn’t packed or done any of that, so it was probably almost 9:00 ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:36-56

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Series

Contributed by Eloy Gonzalez on Mar 7, 2004

Lent Mid-Week 2: When death comes close, it is painful. The faithful mourn. Even in this, the Lord tells us, we are blessed because He will draw close to bring comfort.

‘Blessed are,’ says Jesus as He speaks each of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed’ means more than ‘happy.’ Happiness is an emotion that is dependent on how well things are going. It is an emotional reaction based on outward circumstances. But ‘blessed’ in the Beatitudes refers to much more. It speaks to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:4

Denomination: Lutheran

Trials Turned To Gold

Contributed by John Stackhouse on Apr 22, 2016

staying faithful through trials. Rejoice because they are doing you good.

This morning, I want us to look at the biblical viewpoint of the trials that occur in our lives. And the first thing that I want to do is to differentiate between consequences and trials. The reason that I feel that this is necessary is that most of us want to think of them as the same, but they ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-7

Denomination: Nazarene

The Tongue In The Light Series

Contributed by James Haynes on Jul 23, 2025

In this message from Ephesians 5:11–12, we look at the believer’s responsibility to not just avoid sin—but to expose it. Our words matter. Silence can be a form of compromise. Are we using our speech to shine light, or to stay comfortable in the dark?

🎙? The Tongue in the Light A Devotional and Exegetical Teaching of Ephesians 5:11–12 ________________________________________ 🕊? Introduction: Good morning, brothers and sisters. Thank you for joining me today. Let me ask you something simple, but serious: When was the last time you ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:11-12

You've Heard That

Contributed by Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid on Jun 28, 2016

Let the blessings of the healing power of Christ Jesus stay life persecutions.

“YOU'VE HEARD THAT...” by Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (June 28, 2016) “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:17-21

Denomination: Friends

Hard Times

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jun 1, 2022

Life is full of ups and downs. God wants us to always stay focused on Him when times or good or bad. Don’t give up on God, but don’t forget about Him either.

For the past few weeks we've been talking about things like betrayal, temptation, and the injustices in our lives. Today I want to group all of that together and just talk a little bit about hard times in general. Life is full of ups and downs. A star quarterback throws a game-winning ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 41:28-54

Denomination: Baptist

What God Loves

Contributed by Rusty Tardo on Jun 10, 2006

When you are very close to someone, you know what they love. Are we close enough to our Lord to know what the Bible specifically says He loves?

What God Loves: 1. Those who walk in righteousness - Prov.15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. Ps.11:7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright 2. Righteousness and Justice ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 11:7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why The Lord's Prayer Works Series

Contributed by Allan Quak on Apr 30, 2018

The closing section of the Lord's Prayer ... for yours is the kingdom etc ... is not from the NT. Yet, closing the prayer this way gives us a pattern to get us through life and death

Message Why Prayer Works A sermon on 1 Chronicles 29:11 The Lord’s Prayer is used by Christians all around the world. You may or may not know that the Lord’s Prayer is found in the Bible. You also may or may not know that there are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer written in the Bible. Matthew ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

Denomination: Baptist

Dodgeball

Contributed by Nate Barbour on Feb 8, 2005

A message on how to stay in when life tries to knock you out.

DODGEBALL How To Stay In When Life Tries to Knock You Out 7/7/04 I. Introduction Twentieth Century Fox has just recently released the movie DODGEBALL. The story is about a small local gym that is threatened with extinction by a gleaming sports and fitness palace unless a group of social rejects ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-8

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Comes For Habitation, Not Visitation

Contributed by Samuel M on Apr 2, 2025

God comes to stay, not to visit and leave. Today, if you want an encounter with God, always remember that God comes to stay, not just to visit. When you pray for God to come, pray and prepare your heart so that when He comes, He can stay for a long time.

When God comes, He does not come to visit, but He comes stay. He comes to live, dwell and stay with us forever. He is not an outsider who comes to visit; rather, He is the head of a family who comes to take His rightful place (in the family) and stay with us. He does not come to visit and then ...read more

Our Spiritual Checklist For 2008

Contributed by Jonathan Falwell on Jan 14, 2008

Today, as we bring this year to a close and we begin to think about 2008 and where this new year will take us, I thought it would be wise for us to take a look back at where we’ve been as a springboard for where we are going.

Our Spiritual Checklist for 2008 On July 1, 2007, as we celebrated our 51st anniversary of Thomas Road Baptist Church, we shared an important vision for the next five years of our church. We talked about some of the goals that we want to see accomplished and why we should try to accomplish them. ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Denomination: Baptist

Living A Focused Life - Part 2 Series

Contributed by David Derry on Nov 21, 2002

How to stay focused when tempted - Joseph vs. David

Living a Focused Life – Part 2 November 10, 2002 This week as we continue our series, living a focused life, we will be talking about how to focus on what can’t be seen. Read about the Titanic from pages 1-2 of “Beneath the Surface”. Just as the sinking of the Titanic is reality, sadly every day ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 39:1-12, 2 Samuel 11:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

The Christ Child Was A Perfect Child

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Oct 8, 2001

how Jesus was a perfect child by staying at the temple - as our substitute

December 28, 1997 Luke 2:41-52 41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:51-52

Denomination: Lutheran

Go For The (Lasting) Gold!

Contributed by Daniel Habben on Feb 14, 2006

Go for the (Lasting) Gold! 1) Be disciplined 2) Stay focused

“Go for the Gold!” That’s exactly what hundreds of athletes intend to do the next couple of weeks at the Winter Olympics in Torino (Turin), Italy. What does it take to win a gold medal? It takes discipline and focus. If you haven’t had the discipline to train hard for years, you don’t stand a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Denomination: Lutheran