Sermons on Wicked Hearts:

The Seed And The Sower - Part 1

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Feb 23, 2016

The parable of the Seed and the Sower is full of spiritual insight for us as we see the world as a place where the Lord wishes to plant seeds and to harvest souls. In this first part we look mostly at the Scripture between the parable and the explanation

Matthew 13:1-23 NIV Parable - “A short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.” What might be an example of a simple, non-Biblical story that could be considered a parable? The Tortoise and the Hare (briefly describe) The ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Denomination: Nazarene

Go! And Be Transformed Through Prayer Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Feb 20, 2025

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as believers. It is our direct communication with God, our means of expressing our dependence on Him, and the way through which we align our hearts with His will.

Go! And Be Transformed Through Prayer Introduction C.S. Lewis once said, “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.” Prayer is one of the greatest ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7, John 15:5, Luke 6:12, Matthew 26:36-39, Luke 4:1-2, James 5:16, Matthew 6:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Matthew 6:6, James 4:8, Psalm 46:10, Romans 12:2, John 10:27, 1 Kings 19:11-12, Matthew 26:39, Luke 5:16  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Twenty-Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B - Dirty Hands And Dirty Thoughts

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 29, 2024

“Nothing ever happens in the world that does not first happen inside a mind...”

An illustration for those who deny the reality of concupiscence: A visitor was once being shown around an art gallery. The gallery contained some beautiful paintings which were universally acknowledged to be masterpieces. At the end of the tour the visitor said, "I don't think much of ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8-9, Mark 7:1-23

Denomination: Catholic

Seeing As God Sees 1 Samuel 16:7 Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Aug 3, 2024

Let's consider the profound truth found in 1 Samuel 16:7 and explore how God’s perspective differs from ours and how we can align our vision with His.

Transformed by Truth: Seeing as God Sees 1 Samuel 16:7 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT): "But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Locusts & Darkness (Exodus 10)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Aug 15, 2024

Did God harden a stubborn heart that Pharaoh had already hardened? Let's look at Exodus 10.

Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart apart from his free will (Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8; 14:7)? Did Pharaoh’s heart just grow hard (Exodus 7:13, 22; 8:19; 9:7, 35)? Did Pharaoh harden his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34)? Did God only harden what Pharaoh had already decided ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Love The Lord Thy God.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Sep 18, 2024

The LORD is God alone, and will tolerate no rivals.

LOVE THE LORD THY GOD. Deuteronomy 6:4-9. One of the core texts in the whole Bible is the Shema (DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5). “Hear O Israel…” is something of a refrain in Deuteronomy, much as Jesus would later often say, ‘he who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ Here we are told who the LORD is, and ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

David - God's Sovereign Choice (1 Samuel 16:1-13)

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Jul 4, 2024

David, an anonymous shepherd boy living in the hills of Judea, was the person whom God would raise up to be Israel's greatest king, the author of numerous psalms, and be referred to as "a man after God's own heart".

Three thousand years ago, the LORD God chose a young man by the name of David to be the king of Israel. Out of all the sons of Jesse, God's favor came to rest on David. He was the youngest son of Jesse, a poor farmer from the tiny hamlet of Bethlehem. David, on the surface, was a nobody ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Matthew 1:1, Acts 13:22, Hebrews 11:32

Denomination: Baptist

Pouring Out Where I’m Not Being Filled

Contributed by Charles Jones on May 17, 2025

There’s a difference between serving and being used up.

Pouring Out Where I’m Not Being Filled Sub-Title: Protect Your Peace, Guard Your Gifts, and Watch Your Heart Scripture Foundation: Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Matthew 7:6 – “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23

Denomination: Pentecostal

Developing Vision For Life

Contributed by Dennis Lee on Jan 5, 2026

A Holy Spirit-inspired vision generates its own energy and energizes people’s hearts, minds, and bodies in a positive direction. Some have likened vision to a match that sets people’s hearts ablaze, moving them to action. We’ll explore how to develop such a vision for our lives.

“Developing Vision for Life” Proverbs 23:7 Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtNhdMAPtWw As human beings, we all possess an incredible imagination. Here’s a fact I didn’t know. Our eyes take in four (4) million bytes of information every second, and the moment we see ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1, Matthew 6:22-23, Matthew 9:17, Proverbs 23:7, Proverbs 29:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Foursquare

How To Navigate Doubts And Difficulties Series

Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 22, 2023

How to Navigate Doubts and Difficulties Series: The Deconstruction Zone: Navigating Doubts and Difficulties Brad Bailey & Josh Call – July 30, 2023

How to Navigate Doubts and Difficulties Series: The Deconstruction Zone: Navigating Doubts and Difficulties Brad Bailey & Josh Call – July 30, 2023 Intro (Brad) - Today we are concluding our series called…The Deconstruction Zone ….Navigating Doubts and Difficulties At one level it’s about the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:18, Ephesians 4:15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Mere External Change Can Make Us Happy

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 2, 2022

We have in our deepest being a desire for the infinite, a restlessness for the fullness of being.

Fifth Sunday in Lent 9 March 2008 Lazarus was rushing around more than usual. Martha had forgotten to set back the sundials the previous evening to Jerusalem daylight savings time and they were all running an hour late for synagogue. Lazarus had been coughing for some time, but felt well to go ...read more

Scripture: John 11:1-44, Hosea 11:1-11, Romans 8:9-11

Denomination: Catholic

Superiority Bias Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 16, 2019

The human race suffers from three sin-related problems that alienate mankind from the true God.

Superiority Bias (Romans 2:1-29) 1. This week was a tough week, losing Ginny. I know many of you are hurting, as are Marylu and me. Ginny was quite a woman of God as well as everyone’s friend. 2. She was also very much enjoying and looking forward to this series in Romans. She was a woman of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 2:1-19

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Provoking Thoughts From 1 John (11 Of 16)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Mar 10, 2022

Some of the physical problems we hear much about people having are heart problems. Anyone can be a victim of heart disease or attack.

Illus: A man in Columbia, South Carolina went to a doctor because he was tired most of the time. The doctor examined him and found out he was only getting 20% use of his heart. They did open heart surgery on him, opened up some valves and today he feels like a new man. There are many people in our ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:18-24

Denomination: Baptist

How Do I Make Room For The Tide?

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Mar 12, 2022

The idea for the points sermon came from a picture of a sermon slide I saw on Facebook shared by a fellow preacher. It was about how giving God our firsts leads to success. If you give God your best, He will pour His Best into your life!

TITLE: How Do I Make Room For The Tide? I. OPENING ILLUSTRATION: "Years ago, a wealthy businessman from London chartered a bus to carry a busload of urban children to the coast. There, the children spent a wonderful day at the ocean. Many of the children had never left the city. Most had ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18, 2 Kings 4:9-17

Denomination: Pentecostal

Hurricane Against Sin And Redemption Through Christ

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 30, 2022

Yes, Israel was exiled, but the long-deserved punishment would not last forever. So there is hope today in Christ.

Thursday of 18th Week in Course Human beings tend to make a mess of their lives and their societies, simply when each one has the motto “look out for number one.” Because number one is the ego. I make decisions based on what will please me, regardless of what that does to anybody else. When ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-23, Psalm 51:12-15, Exodus 34:6-7, Jeremiah 31:31-34

Denomination: Catholic