Sermons on Unlikely Heroes:

Christmas - A Hijacked Holiday Series

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Dec 3, 2013

CHRISTMAS has been hijacked in America. And unlike the latest Tim Allen movie, it’s not Santa who needs to be rescued. It’s the very meaning of Christmas itself.

This week, we begin a new series titled, "Christmas Through the Ages." Beginning with the current celebration of Christmas, we will travel back in time, looking at Christmas celebrations, until we arrive at the very first Christmas. Today we begin with Christmas 2013 - A Hijacked Holiday." What ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 18:1-4

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Exodus 19 - Fear God But Draw Near With Holy Boldness! How Does That Work? Series

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009

What I love is that we are not told to stand back from God. We are not told not to go too close. Unlike the people of Israel, we are told to be like Moses and to draw near to God.

Exodus 19 - Holy Boldness! I can’t say I have ever felt afraid of God, but I have felt the awe of His presence, and I have been overcome by a sense of His majesty. I remember standing out on a mound of earth out on a property and looking up at the stars. Away from the city, the stars seem so much ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 19:1-25

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Go! And Know The Beginning And The Word Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Apr 17, 2025

Every story has a beginning. But unlike our stories, the story of God—the story of the Gospel—does not begin with uncertainty or guesswork. It begins with the certainty of God's eternal presence and power.

Go! And Know the Beginning and the Word Genesis 1:1 (NLT): “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:1 (NLT): “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Introduction: A Question of Beginnings Every journey starts somewhere. ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1, John 1:1, John 1:14, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Mark 1:15  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

15. David’s Anointing - God’s Choice (1 Samuel 16) Series

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Aug 27, 2025

When God chooses a leader, He looks not at appearances, but at the heart. His plans are always unfolding, even in quiet fields and unlikely places. While men elevate the impressive, God prepares the faithful.

David’s Anointing - God’s Choice June 4, 2025 Dr. Bradford Reaves Crossway Christian Fellowship 1 Samuel 16 When God chooses a leader, He looks not at appearances, but at the heart. His plans are always unfolding, even in quiet fields and unlikely places. While men elevate the impressive, God ...read more

Denomination: Brethren

A Genealogy Of Grace

Contributed by John Hamby on Nov 2, 2010

Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus displays the scope of God’s grace. Matthew’s genealogy is unusual in that it contains the names of four women. Four unlikely women at that; three are gentiles, three are involved in some kind of sexual immorality, one is a pro

A Genealogy of Grace Matthew 1:1-3, 5-6, 16-17 By now you have no doubt turned in your Bibles to Matthew chapter one and if you did not already know you have noticed the complete chapter is a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Gideon - God Empowers The Timid And Insignificant Series

Contributed by David Welch on Jun 28, 2018

Message 8 in our series on Judges. This message explores the account of Gideon.

Judges Series #8 Life Cycles “God Empowers the Timid and Insignificant” Review We should all be familiar with the cycle by now. Sin-Slavery-Supplication-Salvation-Service Up to this point, I have described the fourth stage as God raising up a deliverer. Technically God is the Deliverer who ...read more

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Truth About The Father's Heart

Contributed by Ed Warfield on Feb 29, 2008

The truth about the Father’s heart is that He wants you to come to Him and get to know Him as He truly is: Lover, Forgiver, Restorer, Hero and Eternal King

The Truth About the Father’s Heart Intro.: Man’s great misconception is found in Psalm 50:21, “You thought I was altogether like you…” Isaiah 55:9 is much more accurate, “But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:9

Denomination: Charismatic

Disciples Endure Storms Together Series

Contributed by John Dobbs on May 30, 2021

Everyone faces storms in their life. Sometimes these storms are life-altering, sometimes they seem impossible to overcome. Many of the greatest heroes of the Bible went through sustained storms that challenged their faith.

-ACTS OF DISCIPLESHIP- DISCIPLES ENDURE STORMS TOGETHER Acts 27:14-36 Introduction Everyone faces storms in their life. Sometimes these storms are life-altering, sometimes they seem impossible to overcome. Death, disease, marriage problems, financial problems, loss of income, disappointment, ...read more

Scripture: Acts 27:14-36

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Run With Endurance Series

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Oct 4, 2022

Run the race of faith with endurance. Don’t get tangled up. Keep it up. Remember that there is a great cloud of witnesses that surround us. Fix your eyes on Jesus. This is the key to your endurance.

We know Thomas Edison as a creative genius and inventor of the light bulb, motion camera and phonograph. When he was a small child, he had a hearing problem and a note came home from his teacher, withdrawal this boy from school because he is too stupid. His mother taught him at home. As an adult ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Denomination: Baptist

The Calling Of Saul

Contributed by John Foster on Sep 8, 2002

Explores 3 aspects of Saul’s conversion. Flash of light, God choses the most unlikely people to do His work (he choses YOU), With Jesus adversity becomes opportunity and even Victory.

I have a question for you. Has anyone here ever had something go wrong but that going wrong was the very thing that made things work out in the end? What do I mean? Have you ever missed the bus and you go back home to find that you’d forgotten to lock the house or something? If you hadn’t ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-20

Denomination: Methodist

Seven Happy People

Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Jan 24, 2006

Unlike joy, happiness is temporary...based on ’happenstance’. But God tells us 7 ’circumstances’ which will lead us to happiness more often. Link included to formatted text, handout, and PowerPoint Template.

SEVEN HAPPY PEOPLE John 13:17 http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/7HappyPeople.html John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. Which kind of Christian are you? Humbly grateful or grumbly hateful? Attitude determines altitude! God isn’t here just to keep you out of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:17

Denomination: Baptist

Deborah And Barak

Contributed by Tim Secrist on Oct 24, 2012

God is willing to use anybody that is willing to be used for His glory. This sermon is about God using an unlikely character to accomplish something big. If He can use this person, He can use anybody.

Deborah and Barak Judges 4 and 5 Intro: Some people never seem to learn. A man pulled into a gas station, walked over to a soda machine, and stared at the sign, which read, “Soda: $2.00.” “Two dollars for a soda – that’s incredible” the man said. ...read more

Scripture: Judges 4:1-23

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Life Of Abraham, Part 8: Thirteen Years Later Series

Contributed by Mark A. Barber on Feb 11, 2014

It had been thirteen years since the birth of Ishmael. God makes a sudden appearance with a startling announcement. We will also be introduced to a new covenant of circumcision which is a conditional covenant unlike that of Genesis 15

The Life of Abraham, Part 8: Thirteen Years Later Genesis 17:1-27 Introduction In the last lesson, it finally looked from Abram’s point of view that God had satisfied Abram’s long awaited promise of a son named Ishmael. At the age of eighty-six, Abram was a dad in his own right. Hagar had acted ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 17:1-27, Genesis 17:1-7, Genesis 17:15-16

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Parable Of Chutzpah

Contributed by Robert Leroe on May 3, 2015

We need to approach prayer with a sense of bold, unhesitating urgency--with chutzpah. We have no worries--unlike the grumpy, groggy neighbor, God never slumbers and is always happy to hear from us.

Jesus gave His disciples the Model Prayer, and followed with a story about someone in need of “daily bread,” a parable that conveys the attitude our prayers should have—we should approach God an unhesitating sense of urgency. The story was a common situation for our Lord’s ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13

Denomination: Congregational

Abcs Of Spiritual Growth

Contributed by Daniel Austin on Feb 28, 2010

Growth is expected in our spiritual lives but unlike physical growth, our spiritual growth does not just happen, we need to give effort and consideration if we are to move from milk to solid food.

ABCS of Spiritual Growth 06/30/08 AM Text: Various, 2 Peter 3:18 Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25 Introduction It’s not uncommon to speak of the “ABC’s” of a topic when talking about the basics of that topic. When we see a book titled “The ABC’s of Child Development” we can pretty much guess that the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ