Sermons on Thrive:

"Better Off Dead” Series

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Sep 8, 2019

Job's real crisis is faith, not suffering. In the midst of disaster, God can grant us peace. (PowerPoint slides to accompany this talk are available on request – email: gcurley@gcurley.info)

“Better Off Dead” Reading: Job chapter 3 verses 20-26 SERMON OUTLINE: Four Points: Job asks a question (3:11,12,16,20&23) Job struggles with his faith (3:1-26) Job has some company (2:11) Job big issue (3:1-26) Three Lessons: When the days are dark, look for the light (vs 20-23). When the ...read more

Scripture: Job 3:20-26

Denomination: Brethren

Healthy Independence-11

Contributed by Byron Sherman on Mar 9, 2021

11 of 12. The prophet Jeremiah contrasted two major aspects of Independence—Independence from God versus independence from the world. Dependence upon YHWH brings independence from worldly influence. How can I be independent of worldly influence? A Healthy Independence Engages...

HEALTHY INDEPENDENCE-XI—Jeremiah 17:1-14 Attention: Wants & Needs: The President visits a remote western Native-American reservation. A cameraman documents the trip. The President asks the Chief if there was anything that they need. "Well," says the Chief, "We have three very ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:13, Jeremiah 17:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

The Greatest Name Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 15, 2021

Jesus is the greatest hero in history for the believer, for He was able to win a victory over the greatest enemies of man, and He gained a name that is above every name.

Here is a powerful story of a man who made a great name for himself and left a name that is long remembered. I quote another’s account: “World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. One day his ...read more

The Hard Work Of Trust

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

God teaches us to trust in him and in his Son our Saviour. God tells us that anxious care and bitter sighing won’t help. Discontentment will get us nowhere, but only humble trust and steadfast faith.

Have you ever felt like complaining against the LORD? Maybe you’ve prayed and prayed, but the answer that you wanted hasn’t come. Or you don’t like what God has brought into your life: lots of disappointment, lots of frustration. Or maybe you look at all the wickedness in the world, and you fear ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:26-39, Habakkuk 2:2-4

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God Pursues His Beloved

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

God wants to be known personally, intimately, and vitally. He wants us to look to him with deep affection, and to depend on him always, because we know him. So foster that true commitment to God: listening to him, speaking with him, and walking with him.

Say you’ve met that “special someone.” It’s one you’ve come to love, it’s the one you want to marry. Probably we all can picture this very human event: meeting someone, falling in love, becoming husband and wife. There’s a lot of joy in this great gift! But then something takes place that nobody ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 2:2-23, Ephesians 5:22-33, Hosea 2:14-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Break Up The Fallow Ground!

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

Getting baptized on your head must have an impact on your heart. If you’ve been baptized, God calls you to put off the old nature and its sinfulness, and to put on the new. There’s no salvation without a change of life, no redemption without repentance.

There once was a book-burning in the palace of Judah’s king. A scroll-burning actually, but the idea is the same. For the LORD told Jeremiah to take a scroll, write on it everything He’d said—and then to have that scroll read before the king. So that’s what Jeremiah did. He wrote down God’s words, ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 3:1-25, Jeremiah 4:1-4

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Stubborn Missionary

Contributed by Reuben Bredenhof on Mar 16, 2021

More than Jonah could ever understand, Jesus reveals the greatness of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is for sinners. His mercy is for Jews, it’s for Gentiles, it’s for people of ever nation, for all who seek him.

What does someone do when they’ve been rescued from great danger—pulled from a burning house, or saved from drowning? Or how does a person act after his life’s been spared: when he should’ve been killed, but someone had mercy? A natural response is the desire to tell people about it. Because what’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-42

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Proverbs Ideal Mother 2 Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 19, 2021

Every mother has her ideals pictured for her in Prov. 31. It is not an easy picture to examine because it makes the mothers feel that they have fallen so far short.

Harry Houdini as a young 20 year old performer, still years away from fame, met an 18 year old singer named Wilhalmina Rohnes. She sat in the front row of his performance and he spilled a glass of colored liquid that spotted her dress. To make amends he got her to give him her measurements. He ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31

Differences Make A Difference Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 22, 2021

We do not have to like everything about Paul, for he didn't like everything about himself, but we do have to recognize that differences are not defects. They are the key to the churches having the diversity necessary to reach a very diverse world.

Sometimes a man can be so different that nobody can agree with him all the time. Such was the case with Roger Williams, who was the founder of the first Baptist Church in America. He came to America for religious freedom, and he expected to have more of it than anybody was willing to give him. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 23:1-11

Saving The Local Church And Pastor From Extinction. Series

Contributed by Jan Oosthuizen on Aug 18, 2019

More and more people are leaving local institutional churches and pick and choose their spiritual diet on social media. Evangelism, and belonging to a local body of believers is on the increasing decline!

When the smallest cell in the body is under attack, it brings the demise of the whole. For as long as I can remember, there has always been a tension between the local church pastor and the staff of parachurch organisations. Parachurch organisasions work outside and across denominations to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Letter To The Church In Pergamum

Contributed by Claude Alexander on Jun 10, 2020

Pergamum was the first city of Asia to openly support the imperial cult or emperor worship, and therefore was considered the chief seat.

Letter to the Church in Pergamum Rev. 2:12-17 As we begin our study and draw some application to present day, let’s look back historically to get an idea what was happening 19 centuries ago. We find that Pergamum was the capital of Asia, and had been the capital city of Asia for almost 400 years. ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Letter To The Church In Sardis

Contributed by Claude Alexander on Jun 26, 2020

The church in Sardis was a perfect model of an inoffensive Christianity. They apparently invented the concept of “political correctness.

Letter to the Church in Sardis Rev. 3:1-6 Sardis was located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira The ruins of 1st century Sardis are located near a city in modern day Turkey named Izmir. The city was at the converging point of several inland roads. One road led northwest to Thyatira and then ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Love Like Jesus Loves Series

Contributed by Brian Bill on Jan 18, 2021

A disciple is one who loves like Jesus loves.

A group of guys went overseas and hired a local boy to cook and clean for them. Being a bunch of jokesters, they quickly took advantage of his seeming naiveté. They smeared Vaseline on the stove handles, put buckets of water over the door, and nailed his shoes to the floor during the night. ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-36

Denomination: Baptist

#37 The Greatest "Mountaintop Experience” Ever! Series

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Feb 14, 2021

The Transfiguration of Christ was the greatest “mountaintop experience” in history. Interestingly, Mark presents the story like a deeply moving movie: There’s a preview, the main attraction and after-movie conversation. This sermon examines the Transfiguration.

#37 The Greatest “Mountaintop Experience” Ever! Series: Mark Chuck Sligh February 14, 2021 NOTE: A PowerPoint is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives TEXT: Please turn in ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

You Dirty Rats Series

Contributed by Thomas Swope on Nov 5, 2015

A study of the book of 1 Samuel 6: 1 – 21

1 Samuel 6: 1 – 21 You Dirty Rats 1 Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” 3 So ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 6:1-21

Denomination: Calvary Chapel