Sermons on Vision Setting:

A Tragic Beginning, A Tragic End

Contributed by Bob Briggs on Dec 15, 2000

Some stories start out good in life and get better, some start out bad and get worse.

Tonight I want to share an unusual message with you, a message that is pointed out of Matthew Chapter 27. Lets read from verse 3-5 (READ). The message is titled, a tragic beginning, and a tragic ending. Some stories start out bad and end good, some start out good and end good, and some start out ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:3-5

Denomination: Pentecostal

What If This Was Your Last Day On Earth?

Contributed by Bob Briggs on Dec 16, 2000

What would you do if you knew today was to be the last day for you on earth?

Matthew 25:1-13 (READ) This morning I have a life changing thought I want to interject into your life. What would you do today, if you knew tomorrow was to be your last day? We often think of people coming to the end of life, but we really don’t think about it enough. When we think of it we ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Pentecostal

It's Mother's Day!

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 19, 2000

Mother’s Day used to be such an easy Sunday for preachers because we could preach sermons filled with warm, happy illustrations. Well - maybe not for everybody.

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (Revised: 2013) ILL. A man came home from work one afternoon & found his three small children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud. Some of their toys were scattered across the lawn & on the driveway. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:25, Ephesians 4:32

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Praying With Joy! Series

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 20, 2000

Is prayer a first response to you? Or is it a last resort? Do you pray in an attitude of gratitude? Or are you always grumbling? When you pray, do you make sure that God receives the glory, & not you?

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK This morning I would like for us to go back nearly 2,000 years to the city of Rome. It is an exciting time to be in Rome, a metropolis of gladiators, chariots, & palaces. But we’re not going to stop at the coliseum or ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Getting Ready For Christmas

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 21, 2000

How do we handle the fact that it is His birthday, & so few are paying any attention to Him at all?

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX A. You have probably heard the old saying that there are 3 types of people: people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, & people who have no earthly idea what is happening. There are many who ...read more

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Christmas Spirit

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on Dec 26, 2000

The Christmas spirit is many things.

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT Matthew 2:1-12 INTRO.- What is the Christmas spirit? It all depends on who you are. ILL.- Here’s a story called “The Christmas Spirit,” which is one of the best I’ve found. “Pardon me, Sir, I’m a stranger in town. I thought you might be able to tell me what’s going ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Lion Is A Lamb

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 26, 2000

God’s power is often displayed in weakness.

It may seem strange to speak about Christmas with a passage from the book of Revelation. But we see here, perhaps more clearly than anywhere else, the great paradox of God — the power of God displayed in weakness. Let’s look at this passage with an attempt to understand its meaning and ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 5:1-14

Denomination: Methodist

Confronted By Truth

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 26, 2000

The woman at the well is confronted by the truth which Jesus presents her.

Charles Swindoll, in his book Growing Deep in the Christian Life, tells the true story of a man who bought fried chicken dinners for himself and his girlfriend to enjoy on a picnic one afternoon. He was in for a surprise because the person behind the counter mistakenly gave him the wrong paper ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-26

Denomination: Methodist

An Attitude Of Gratitude

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 27, 2000

Learning to be grateful and letting create joy, contentment and the desire to share.

There was an article in the local paper where I used to live about a couple who had been living on welfare and food stamps from 1983 to 1991. They had drawn a great deal of money from the welfare system, before it was discovered through a welfare fraud investigator, that the couple had stocks, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-16

Denomination: Methodist

Inescapable Love

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 27, 2000

Lessons from the life of Hosea. God’s love is beyond reason, inescapable and tough.

As I thought about the messed-up life of Hosea this week, I logged onto the Jerry Springer web site to check out the kind of topics he had been wallowing in lately. Some of the program titles read like this one on August 28: “Surprise, I’m Cheating.” The caption describes the show this way: ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 1:1-10

Denomination: Methodist

In The Beginning

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 31, 2000

Creation tells us that we are valuable to God, accountable to God, and that there is a purpose to our existence.

The story goes that one day a group of scientists had a meeting and decided that humans had come so far that they no longer needed God. After reaching their decision they appointed one of their number to go and explain to God that his services were no longer required. He said, “God, we’ve ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Conquering Lonliness --- The Story Of Joseph

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 31, 2000

Joseph was lonely because he was alienated from his family, felt no one cared and that there was no hope. He conquered his lonliness by maintaining his integrity, becoming involved in meaningful work and forgiving those who had wronged him.

In September, 1985, a celebration was held at a New Orleans municipal swimming pool. The occasion was the celebration of the first summer in memory when no one had drowned at any New Orleans city pool. In honor of this somewhat historic event, two hundred people gathered at one of New Orleans’ ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:19-36

Denomination: Methodist

God's Rx For Discouragement

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jan 1, 2001

Discouragement comes when we focus on the problem rather than God, on the wonders of God rather than the Word of God, on our inadequacies rather than God’s resources.

We find ourselves at an interesting time of history. Perhaps, more than any other time, we find ourselves polarized as a people. During the world wars the country seemed to come together in patriotic unity, but with the absence of war, and the influx of prosperity, we seemed to have lost ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-15

Denomination: Methodist

Thanks Pop! Series

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 3, 2001

Thanks dad for being a servant leader and being a witness to me about who Jesus is!

Thanks Pop! Thesis: Thanks dad for being a servant leader and being a witness to me about who Jesus is! Introduction: In our society today we have a disillusioning phenomena happening – It’s 40% of all households today have no father in them. The fatherless trend in families have caused many ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Building Walls That Last

Contributed by David Simmons on Jan 18, 2001

How the church can develop a passion for fulfilling her mission

COWBOY FOOTBALL Well, God is still in control. I learned that this past Monday night. God still is a Cowboy fan, I’m convinced. Only God could take the bottom dwellers of the league, the Dallas Cowboys, and help them pull out a victory against the “Super Bowl bound, 100 million dollar,” ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 2:11-18

Denomination: Baptist