Sermons on Wickedness In High Places:

Preparing The Way At Christmas

Contributed by Paul Humphrey on Dec 5, 2005

John the Baptist came preparing the way. We need to prepare the way for Christ in our hearts and our world as well as we look forward to Christmas.

Second Sunady of Advent 2005 www.valleyforge Dr. Paul G. Humphrey The following series of advertisements reportedly appeared in a daily newspaper: Monday: "The Rev. A.J. Jones has one color TV set for sale. Telephone 626-1313 after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs. Donnelley who lives with him, cheap." ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:1-9

Denomination: United Methodist

Worry-Free Living

Contributed by Tony Grant on Dec 7, 2005

Be anxious in nothing; prayerful in everything; thankful in anything, and you will have the peace of God.

Worry-Free Living Philippians 4:4-7 01/16/05 2293 words 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

All I Need Is A Miracle (Revised)

Contributed by Michael Hollinger on Dec 7, 2005

What does a miracle tell us? That we are children of God!

A mother had taken her young toddler son to Acapulco. She and her son were having a great time playing on the beach, kicking around the sand, and just have a fun time exploring. The little boy was just poking around when we saw a quarter. As toddlers are wont to do, he went to the shiny object, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:24-27

Denomination: Baptist

'after Christmas' Gifts

Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Dec 8, 2005

The Wise Men and the symbolic significance of their gifts, and how they should change us all this Christmas! Link included to formatted text, handout, and PowerPoint Presentation.

‘After Christmas’ Gifts Matthew 2:1-11 PowerPoint for this and all our sermons available at http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons.html 2 common misconceptions about the wise men that we have come to believe by tradition: -Nowhere does the Bible say there were 3 wise men. Every picture I could find had ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Living Between The Advents

Contributed by William Mouser on Dec 13, 2005

Psalm 126 shows us two advents of God’s redemptive blessing of his people, and provides advice for how to between the advents.

Third Sunday in Advent 2005 Psalm 126, Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, John 1:6-8,19-28 Living Between the Advents Psalm 126 – the Psalm appointed for this third Sunday in Advent – is one of 15 psalms grouped together in the Psalter which all bear the designation “a psalm of ascents.” ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 126:1-6

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Desperate Wives Series

Contributed by Brian Bolton on Dec 13, 2005

This is part 3 or 5 in our Desperate Households series. This message deals directly with the wife’s role of "submission" according to Ephesians

Series: Desperate Households Message: Desperate Wives Date: 11/27/05 On July 29, 1981, one of the most highly publicized and glamorous weddings in history took place. • Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Diana • An estimated audience of 750 million people worldwide. • 4500 pots of fresh ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-33

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Embracing Grief And Loss Series

Contributed by Dave Bootsma on Dec 15, 2005

Some see grief as something to get over with as quick as possible, but God wants to deepen us through it.

Grief is typically treated as something to be "gotten over with" as soon as possible, or certain things are not seen as worthy of grief. If others were not impacted the same way as you then you have the problem. There doesn’t seem to be any room for people responding differently when it comes to ...read more

Scripture: John 11:17-44

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Weapons Of War

Contributed by Ron Hietsch on Dec 19, 2005

The battle is spiritual -- it is against the devil and, his hordes of demons, the powers of darkness and sin. We will all be tested -- everyone of us marked with the sign of the cross and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord are ENEMIES of the devil.

One of my favorite movies is “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo. This movie, about a family involved in organized crime,contains some very powerful lessons about the twisted thinking of those whose lives are controlled by Satan. One memorable scene shows a meeting called to make peace after a war ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20

Denomination: Lutheran

Narnia: The Lion Comes Series

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Dec 21, 2005

As a lion is passionate about protecting his young, Christ’s passion is his love for you.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a Christian allegory, so, it is not surprising that there are people in the world who are attacking this story and Lewis in writing it. Some even say that the Church is making it out to be something it is not. The Bible does use the lion for many ideas, but in ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 5:5

Denomination: Mennonite

The Commitment Of Jesus

Contributed by Steve Shepherd on Dec 22, 2005

Jesus was committed to His Father, to all mankind and to His believers.

INTRO.- A few Christmas riddles. - What do elves learn in school? The "elphabet"! - Why was Santa’s little helper depressed? He had low "elfesteem"! - What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Frosted flakes! - What kind of candle burns longer, a red one or a green one? Neither, candles always burn ...read more

Scripture: John 8:29

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Narnia: Have You Met The Lion? Series

Contributed by Daniel Driggs on Dec 23, 2005

An examination of some of the characteristics of the Lion of Judah as displayed in Aslan the lion in C. S. Lewis’The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

TITLE: Have you met the Lion? TEXT: Revelation 5:5 Through the years there have been a number of famous lions on television and in the movies. • Leo debuted on July 31, 1928 as the MGM lion mascot seen at the beginning of every MGM feature film. • In the film adaptation The Wizard of Oz ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 5:5

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Nick At Night

Contributed by John Nadasi on Feb 17, 2005

A non threatening invitation to salvation.

John 3:1-17 Paonia United Methodist Church February 20, 2004 This morning we continue along our Lenten journey As we return to an old friend. Lent, if you remember, is a season set aside to contemplate And even mourn the distance between God and mankind. And the purpose of this is to take an ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-17

Denomination: Methodist

Born To Love Series

Contributed by Jeffery Anselmi on Feb 19, 2005

One of the things we are called to do is to FERVENTLY love one another,

INTRODUCTION  SLIDE 1  Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about trying to stay clean in an unclean world, or put another way, we were encouraged to stay out of the mud. Last week we looked at why we need to stay out of the mud.  When you belong to Jesus, we should ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Ultimate Test Series

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 1, 2005

Abraham’s final test - and he passed with flying colours

The Ultimate Test Genesis 22:1-22:19 The Ultimate Test This week I want to look at Gen 22: 1-19 1. The test (Gen 22:10-12) Here the Lord speaks to Abraham and tells him to offer that which he holds dearest to God, his son Isaac. This reminded me of the first commandment in Ex. 20: You ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-19

Denomination: Anglican

How Do You Recognize Faith?

Contributed by William Mouser on Mar 11, 2005

The "Faith Hall of Fame" shows us how we recognize faith -- not by the success or failure of those who have it, nor by their joy or sadness, but by the way they clothed their faith in works.

18th Sunday in Trinity Hebrews 11:1-39 "How do you recognize faith?" Many years ago, a pornography case came before the United States Supreme Court. Justice Potter Stewart said this: “I shall not today attempt further to define [obscenity]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-39

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican