Sermons on Thansgiving Day:

Building Up What Was Broken Down

Contributed by Chris Medina on Jun 11, 2003

The exiles who returned to Judah from captivity bgan the rebuilding process for the Temple. However it was their own hearts that needed restoring and it was God Himself who became the builder.

Ezra: Building Up What Was Broken Down” Ezra 3:1-13 Read Ezra 3:1-13 Last Monday morning, a young man named Sgt. Sean Peterson was in our home. Sgt. Peterson is a recruiter for the Army here in Merced and was telling Laurie and I about the arrangements for Kevina going up to Stockton to take the ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 3:1-13, Ezra 3:1-3, Ezra 3:1

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Let The Joy Of The Lord Overflow In Your Marriage

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jul 2, 2003

Today, too many couples scarcely relate to each other, after years of marriage. Many other activities, responsibilities and interests seem to crowd out the importance of a happy marital relationship for millions in America.

Let the Joy of the Lord Overflow in Your Marriage (Eph. 5:20-25) Quote: Let the wife make the husband glad to come home; and let him make her sorry to see him leave. Martin Luther Today, too many couples scarcely relate to each other, after years of marriage. Many other activities, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:20-30

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Information Overload Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 3, 2003

We have so much knowledge, but we do not know how to use it. A reverent relationship to God readies us to respond when we lack courage, reinforces righteousness when we are doubtful, and retains reticence when we are tempted to say more than we understan

Only a few years ago, we replaced the old office computer. It was a dual-floppy drive type, if that means anything to you. We decided that we would get a newer computer, the kind with a hard drive on it, so that we could not only do word processing (for the uninitiated, that just means typing, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-7, Proverbs 1:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Get Out Of The Boat

Contributed by Denn Guptill on Jul 10, 2003

A look at Peter’s walk on the water

The entire world just disappeared. One minute it was there and the next minute, there it was gone. Well not really but it seemed like everything else had ceased to exist, and all there was left was Peter, the sea and Christ. It had started off as another boat trip across the Sea of Galilee for ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-39

Denomination: Wesleyan

I Believe In Pontius Pilate Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jul 13, 2003

1. Jesus Christ humbled himself. 2. Jesus Christ surrendered himself. 3. Jesus Christ gave himself to save us.

The Apostle’s Creed, which we are studying, is a creed of contrasts. Listen to the stark opposites to which we profess faith: “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.” From that great pronouncement of Christ’s uniqueness, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:13-27

Denomination: Methodist

The True Vine Series

Contributed by Byron Harvey on Jul 17, 2003

This is the final part of a series I did on the 7 "I Am" statements of Jesus in John.

June 29, 2003 John 15:1-8 “The True Vine” Intro I’m going to ask the ushers today to pass around some clusters of grapes. Would you be very careful to grip the clusters of grapes only by the branch, rather than by the individual grapes, and then simply pick off one grape for yourself and pass ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Why Do You Ask? Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 29, 2003

Neither conservatives nor liberals are really interested in learning; all want their opinions confirmed. Jesus teaches us how to deal with both by asking questions to test the argumentative spirit, to test honesty, and to get people to listen to their ow

Some folks want their religion to confirm everything they’ve already committed to, but other folks want, or say they want, a religion that will challenge to change. And there isn’t much common ground between these two types. Or is there? Some folks want their religion to confirm everything ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:16-18

Denomination: Baptist

Real, Old-Fashioned Church Series

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Mar 7, 2003

Paul says four things need to be present for the building up of the church. The two we generally ignore are the ones where we listen to God directly.

Real, Old-Fashioned Church: Becoming A Festival pt. 5 March 1/2, 2003 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 Intro: We have spent the past four weeks talking about worship, and about our vision for worship depicted by the idea of a festival. I¡¦ve been excited to see the Spirit of God moving in our midst, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26-33

Denomination: Baptist

Respect Authority! Series

Contributed by Jim Black on Mar 20, 2003

God calls Christians to respect authority out of respect for God. Paul illustrates how our submission plays out in the Parent-Child relationship as well as in our work relationships.

Respect Authority! Ephesians 6:1-9 Focus: God calls Christians to submit to one another and respect authority out of respect for God. Function: To illustrate how our submission plays out in the Parent-Child relationship as well as in our work world. When Celeste and I first found out ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-9

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dare To Be Free Again Series

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Mar 27, 2003

Jesus rose to bring us freedom. But we tend to adapt to sin and the things that easily entangle, rather than really getting free. Beginning with some thoughts on war in Iraq

Dare to Be Free Again: “Up From the Grave: Lent 2003” March 22/23, 2003 Intro: Once again we find ourselves in the midst of a world at war. We’ve seen the pictures of bombs dropping, of soldiers racing through the desert, of people surrendering. I didn’t anticipate that today’s title, which I ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:1-2, John 8:32-36

Denomination: Baptist

Jubilation! Series

Contributed by Paul Decker on Apr 1, 2003

We must have the courage to dedicate the work of our hands and the desires of our hearts to God.

JUBILATION Nehemiah 11:1-12:47 S: Courage Th: Brave Hearts Pr: WE MUST HAVE COURAGE TO DEDICATE THE WORK OF OUR HANDS AND THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS TO GOD. ?: What? What is the process? KW: Expressions TS: We will find in our study of Nehemiah 11:1-12:47 four expressions of the dedication of ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

A Crucified Body Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Apr 6, 2003

1. Your body is a gift of God. 2. Your body is not be misused. 3. Your body is to bring glory to God.

Our bodies are very important to us. We feed them, care for them, groom them, pamper them and pleasure them. We go to spas and get messages. We are very conscious of our body and its appearance. Most of us have gotten on the scales this past week. We know our blood pressure, our cholesterol ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Denomination: Methodist

Love Of The World

Contributed by Jeff Hughes on Apr 10, 2003

God commands us not to love the things of this world.

Love of the World 1st John 2:15 - 17 Jeff Hughes I. Introduction a. By way of introduction, let’s briefly look at our study last time, if you’ll remember, it concerned loving one another. b. First, we saw that John talked about what appears to be two commandments, an old one and a new one. c. We ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Prodigal Son

Contributed by Scott Bayles on Nov 2, 2004

Jesus tells of God’s wonderful grace and His all-encompassing love by relating the three experiences of the wasteful son: Rebellion, Repentance, and Rejoicing!

The Prodigal Son by Scott R. Bayles (after Warren Wiersbe) Church of Christ Several years back, during a conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated, what--if any--belief was unique to the Christian faith. The debate went on for some time, until C.S. Lewis wandered ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-24

Denomination: Christian Church

Freedom To Eat, Freedom To Meet, Freedom To Speak

Contributed by David Elvery on Nov 10, 2004

God’s call to embrace all people not exclude them

Freedom to eat, Freedom to meet, Freedom to speak God’s call to Embrace not Exclude Acts 10:1-34, 44-48 Introduction to Topic There are many cultures in this world, with various distinctions. One distinction that we have is in the foods we enjoy eating. There are some foods which we all enjoy ...read more

Scripture: Acts 10:1-48

Denomination: Baptist