Sermons on Vance Havner:

Holding Ourselves Accountable

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

Investigate the ingredients of Jesus call to his first apostles, and to us.

20000430a - Holding Ourselves Accountable!!! Mt. 28 Opening: (Responsible Agents) Responsibility -- others can’t always do it for us. How about spiritual responsibility? If we have responsibility in the mundane things of life, how about the bigger things? Have you con-sidered your ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Why Personal Morality Isn't

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

This sermon builds a case against the myth of "personal" morality, showing our moral responsibility.

20000813a - Why Personal Morality Isn’t (Ephesians 4.17-5.2) “Private Lives” matter because of the biblical measures of morality. Isuzu commercial: "The world has boundaries. Ignore them." * Outback Steakhouse: "No rules. Just right." * NFL video game: "No refs, no rules, no mercy." * Comedy ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What To Pray For Your Leaders

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

A call for church members to commit themselves to pray for the joy of their leaders.

Pray for the Joy of Your Leaders 20000910a - Based on Galatians 6.9 SCORRE • Every one of us can uplift our teachers and leaders by praying for the joys of teaching to be theirs… (what joys?…) Opening Weariness is the problem. (text) We become weary in well-doing… • fruit takes a while • lack ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Burning Bush: Attentive Hearts

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

A sermon based on the Burning Bush story which looks at what it means to have hearts that are attentive to God.

20000326a - Exodus 3.1,f. The Burning Bush Attentive Hearts Story of a native American in NYC hearing cricket; crowd hearing coins drop. The point is not just listening; it’s WHAT! / TRUTH! Turn Aside [3.1-3] Moses’ first step was a detour. It was a decision to pay at-tention. (We get so ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-10

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Blessed Is The Nation

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

A call to be salt-and-light citizens.

Psalm 33.12-22 Blessed is the Nation.. It was in the middle of a very unpopular war, a conflict noted for its shabby ideology and selfish ends. Besides which, it wasn’t going well. On the night of September 13, he found himself sloshing around in a small boat on a mission: He’d volunteered to ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12-22

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Money Talks

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Sep 11, 2002

A sermon on the attitudes with which we give.

Mark 12.41-44 “Money Talks” Problem Then Giving with pretense and show. Court of the Women where the temple treasury was situated/women & men came to present their gifts. Chests called "trumpets" / shaped like trumpets. Metal coins were PITCHED into/make a loud noise. The more money ..the louder ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

One Thing Series

Contributed by Vance Elzinga on Aug 21, 2007

This message focuses on one particular aspect of this passage - that the Lord prunes us to make us more fruitful. Practical application in this message is to consider what the Lord may be calling me to prune from my busy life, in order to do the best thi

Hook/Opening Overcommitted? Many of us feel/are. But here’s a list of busy/committed: Billy Graham and ____. James Dobson and _____. Joni Earikson and _____. Jimmy Carter and _____. Bill Bright and ______. (RCA) Betty Voskuil and _____. Gary Smalley and ______. “Our world has been greatly ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Grace...an Idol? Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

What is idolatry and how does grace become an idol?

There are times in our lives where God calls us into the tension of life…to go deeper in wrestling with who He is and what He has done for us…These moments can be wonderful moments, but not easy moments. A professor of mine called it “Blessed Despair” (Discovery yet limited). When you get in the ...read more

Messy Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

When Grace Meets Our Mess

What makes grace unmerited, undeserved, and unearned? Though sin and grace have separate chapters in most systematic theology texts, I’m convinced they are so closely related that we can’t understand one without the other. And because the word sin has fallen out of favor (Sin Is Out of Style), it ...read more

Insecure Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

The identity crisis that grace can cause

Who do you think you are? That question is identity-shaping, life-altering, eternity-affecting. How would you describe yourself? How do you introduce yourself? How do you perceive yourself? That’s the greatest question you will ever ask yourself? It’s your identity…and the truest of what you think ...read more

Immature Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

How does grace help you grow?

One of the gifts of God is this progression of life…We all know that there is this progression of life…there is an expectation that when young you are going to grow up… Baby in the womb…infant wanting to walk…child wanting to be a teenager, a teenager wanting to be an adult… Do you remember…Did ...read more

Weak Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

Does grace cause you to endure?

Grace is the greatest gift…in a world of greatest pain…What is the thing in your life that has hurt you the most? For some it’s a relationship (spouse or parents)…for others it was a sickness…some it was financial…and for many it was an emotional breakdown (depression)…Whatever you answer with…I ...read more

Stifled Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

Does the grace that has been given to you extend from you?

1 Corinthians 15 God’s grace permeated Paul’s thinking. One scholar writes, “Paul could not think of Christian truth and conduct apart from God’s grace” (D. Edmond Hiebert, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank Gaebelein [Zondervan], 11:439). vs. 1 – notice the progression of the ...read more

Unfinished Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

Where is grace leading you?

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so ...read more

Uncommon Grace Series

Contributed by Dave Vance on Jan 20, 2019

Has grace become common?

How many of us have this same experience with the beauty of grace. God graciously gives us freedom from the bondage of sin. It’s grace that is beyond human description. But God continues to pour upon our salvation gifts like Scripture, prayer, the church, our families, friends, jobs, and ...read more