Sermons on Vantage Point:

Intimate Series

Contributed by Joel Gilbert on Aug 28, 2023

As we continue to reflect on what it means to be a biblical community, we've seen so far that we are united and the there are norms of that community. In this sermon, we'll reflect on the intimacy or nearness that we experience as a church.

? Possible Intro: ? The pandemic and our nation’s value of rugged individualism have wreaked havoc in our lives - more than we realize. ?I was listening to a podcast this week that contained a conversation between Russel Moore and Sam Alberry. Both are believers and apologists. Both attend ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-3, Romans 5:5

Denomination: Baptist

Lost And Found

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 29, 2023

Not everybody who is lost wants to be found, and when God finds us, we often rebel - at first - against being brought home.

Have any of you ever tried to put an injured cat into a carrying case to take it to the vet? How many of you got scratched for your pains? It doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? All you’re trying to do is help. Animals are supposed to be so intuitive; many people claim they can actually smell ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:18-27

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Keep Stable Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 30, 2021

The key role that Scripture and our regard for it has in our lives

Oprah Winfrey, at last year’s Golden Globe Awards said, “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” Her words are reflective of a trend that has been growing for decades now - the idea that truth isn’t the same as reality. Truth is more like something ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:14-18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Can Heaven Be Happy? Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

A short study of Heaven and why Christians should look forward to it.

We live in a world full of different ideas about Heaven. World religions have all kinds of forms of it - Hinduism teaches that it’s what happens for the person who finally escapes reincarnation. Mormonism teaches that we’ll all eventually become gods and each have our own planet to populate. ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Can I Trust The Bible? Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

Message as COVID 19 lockdowns began. In answer to the question: It seems like we put an awful lot of weight on what the Bible says. What makes it different from any other religious writings? It’s so old, and there are so many different ones, how can I even be sure that it’s worth trusting?

Question to be asked: It seems like we put an awful lot of weight on what the Bible says. What makes it different from any other religious writings? It’s so old, and there are so many different ones, how can I even be sure that it’s worth trusting? What a week this has been! We came back from a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:20, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Timothy 3:16

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Living Lamb Series

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Mar 31, 2021

Easter Sunday - in the midst of a series.

Intro: In the mid 1950’s, a Methodist minister in the UK, W E Sangster, noticed some symptoms in his throat and legs. He was found to have an incurable muscle disease that would eventually take away his voice, and his ability to swallow. So Sangster threw himself into his work, figuring he could ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 28:1-10

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Courtroom Of Heaven Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Satan is no amateur accuser. He knows that if you can bring the best man to a fall, you don't have to worry about lesser men. Satan goes right to the top. God is so proud of Job that he flaunts him before Satan.

The FBI has some amazing ways of bringing criminals to justice. One of these ways is by means of the Petrographic Unit of their famed laboratory in Washington, D. C. This unit is devoted to the analysis and identification of different kinds of soil. They know what soil is from a South Dakota ...read more

Scripture: Job 1:6-12

Job's Wife Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

No woman in history has been so severely condemned for so few words. She only steps on the stage for a moment, and she utters about ten words. On the basis of those few words she has been psychoanalyzed by preachers and scholars, and they have concluded, she was to Job what Judas was to Jesus.

Because of his great novel, War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy became one of the most famous Russians that ever lived. His fame and fortune did not bring him happiness, however, because of his wife. They were about as compatible as a porcupine and a bubble. She loved luxury, and he hated it. She loved ...read more

Scripture: Job 2:1-13

The Saint In Depression Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

It should be no surprise that God's people get depressed. It is normal for Christians to get athletes foot, tooth aches, and gray hair. It is also normal for them to get depressed.

I read a humorous story that fits the experience of Job. A man was on his roof trying to fix the TV antenna. Suddenly it began to rain, and while struggling with the guy wires he slipped. As he tumbled down the roof, he made a last ditch effort to grab the drain trough. There he was, hanging from ...read more

Justifiable Complaint Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

There was no escapism with Job. He got no comfort by trying to deny the reality of evil. Many believers often try to pretend that there is no evil. This is not healthy at all. Job is healthy, for he condemns evil for what it is.

Disraeli, as the Prime Minister of England, was once walking with a friend. As they went along the street in London, they met a distinguished looking gentleman. Disraeli greeted him, and asked, "How is your old complaint?" The man responded that it was getting worse, and he was sure it ...read more

Job And Self-Esteem Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Job's attitude toward himself forces us to wrestle with one of life's major issues, the issue of self-esteem. This is a complex issue because the whole world is in on it.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, the New York millionaire, back in 1853, entered the Moon Lake Lodge as the talk of the town. The chef was an Indian Chief named George Crum. He was one of the greatest chefs, but even he could not know everything. So when Vanderbilt ordered, what was then the newest craze ...read more

Scripture: Job 27:1-6

A Season To Be Selfless Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 1, 2021

Selfishness is that sin we can hardly stand in others, or hardly see in ourselves. It is so hard to forgive in others, and so hard to forsake in ourselves.

On Dec. 7, 1682 the Great Law of Pennsylvania was passed which became the basis for governing the state for 94 years. It represented William Penn's ideal of a Christian state. It provided for religious freedom and the protection of individual rights. It provided for the care of poor and ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

The Priority Of Love Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 2, 2021

The messages to the seven churches are vital to the survival of the church in any part of the world at any time in history. The lights of the church go out all through history and produce dark ages when Jesus is not heard and heeded.

If someone asks you, "What is the modern name of the country where Paul was born?" Would you know? If someone asked you, "What is the modern name of the country where Christians were first called Christians?" Would you know? If someone asked you, "What is the modern ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7

The Road Of Repentance. Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 2, 2021

Change is the essence of repentance. It is to stop doing what you are doing that is not making you an effective Christ-pleasing Christian, and to start doing what does make you that kind of Christian.

For decades the American people have been lulled into complacency by hearing the Gallop Pole say that over 90% of Americans believe in God. This led to a false security that we were a godly nation. But now Gallop decided to get more specific, and he discovered that only 10% of Americans ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29

The Duty Of Being In Debt Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 2, 2021

We saw in a previous message that we have an obligation to be an encourager of all in the body of Christ, and now we see that we have an obligation to be an enlightener of all who are outside of the body of Christ. We are debtors to all people, and we owe everybody something.

In 1901 Andrew Carnegie sold his Pennsylvania steel mill to J. P. Morgan for 420 million dollars, and thereby became the richest man in the world. That fortune was made by the sacrifice of thousands of common laborers. He under paid them ruthlessly, and he forced them to work 12 hours a day 7 ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:14-17