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Showing 976 to 1000 of 1858 results

976. Someone Who Loves You

Eph 6:1-4

Illustration

King Duncan

... felt when my mother showed me the crumpled photo were the very same emotions I felt that February night in a college dorm room when I first believed in a God of love. Someone is there, I realized. Someone is there who loves me. It was a startling feeling of wild hope, a feeling so new and overwhelming that it seemed fully worth risking my life on."

977. We All Need Dad

Eph 6:1-4

Illustration

King Duncan

... out, was not just a matter of size intimidation," says Raspberry. "The young bulls actually started following the Big Daddies around, yielding to their authority and learning from them proper elephant conduct. The assaults on the white rhinos ended abruptly." Raspberry's point was that young males--whether they are wild animals or human beings--need Dads.

978. Romans 7: 15-25a

Romans 7:7-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... words, do those who now live “in Christ” also live with this same failure of self, day in and day out, the same triumph of the “flesh” over the “mind,” because of the human condition of sinfulness? Historically the church has wildly flip-flopped on the identity of the “I” Paul speaks of in these texts. The earliest church fathers generally agreed that Paul was speaking of an unregenerate person. The Pelagian controversy eventually pushed Augustine to change his mind and find these verses ...

979. A World Without Easter

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... seminar, Dr. Robert Funk, told Time magazine as well, "The tales of entombment and resurrection were latter-day wishful thinking. Instead, Jesus' corpse went the way of all abandoned criminals' bodies: it was probably barely covered with dirt, vulnerable to the wild dogs that roamed the wasteland of the execution grounds."1 Thomas Jefferson totally emasculated all of the miracles from the four gospels. His bible called The Jefferson Bible, ends with the words: "Now in the place where He was crucified, there ...

980. America in the Mirror

2 Kings 17:5-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... his prophets to deliver a message loudly and clearly, "Turn from your evil ways." (v.13) The first word that God has to say to a sinful nation, a sinful church, a sinful people, is "repent." Incidentally, religion is no substitute for repentance. Many Americans sow their wild oats Monday through Saturday, and then go to church on Sunday and pray for crop failure. Well, repentance means to hate sin and to turn away from it. The only choice America has is to repent or perish. Don't you get the idea that if we ...

981. Sowing the Seed

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... walked away with this soldier, and as they walked, the wind blew the soldier's raincoat open to reveal the shoulder badges of a brigadier general. The general said, "You will perhaps be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I had to come to salute him at the end." Thomas did not know what he was doing. No preacher or ...

982. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... 27:8 says, "Like a bird that wanders from its nest is a man who wanders from his place." That is, a man who leaves his wife and family for another woman, is no better than a bird who would leave his baby chicks as open prey to the wilds of nature. Listen to what one man said about adultery. "Infidelity tells a child, ‘Your mother is not worth much, and your father is a liar and a cheat. Furthermore, honor is not nearly as important as pleasure. In fact, my child, my own satisfaction is more important than ...

983. The Door Is Always Open

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... of a Sinful Son The story begins with a son who has a good home, godly parents, everything in life you could ever want. But somehow the root of ingratitude has now become the fruit of rebellion. He is tired of sowing corn in the country, he wants to sow wild oats in the city. So he becomes a rebellious son. a. He Loved His Rebellion "And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood." (v.12) This son had not earned a ...

984. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... Reynolds come out $500,000 to the good, but he also wound up with the piece of property! But that is still not the end of the story. He never heard again from his friend until about seven years later. They happened to run up on each other. His earth-wild friend, who claims to be a Christian, was talking as if nothing had happened, and Joe said, "I understand from reading in the paper you just cut a deal that netted you over $5 million." The man said, "That is true." Joe said, "Well, when are you going to ...

985. Once Save - Always Saved

John 10:27-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... that a shepherd who embarked on a long journey with a flock of sheep, was considered successful if he arrived with more than fifty percent of his sheep.2 The reason for this is that the dangers to sheep were so incredible; disease, poison grass, floods, and wild animals were just a few of the things that killed sheep on a long trip. But Jesus Christ is no ordinary shepherd. He is called the Great Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd. He made a promise; if He starts out with one hundred sheep ...

986. Dad: The Head of a Godly Family

Joshua 24:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... tower politicians, and the intellectual elite, are shrugging their shoulders and saying, "So what?" Let me quote Daniel Patrick Moynihan, now a Senator from New York, but in 1965 a young aide to Lyndon Johnson. Thirty years ago he penned these words: From the wild Irish slums of the 19th Century Eastern Seaboard to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women ...

987. Building Your Home on the Rock

Matthew 7:24-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... and a little bit aggravated at these people who claim to receive Christ, they claim to be saved, they claim to have placed their faith in Him. But then you mention getting into a pool of water for ten seconds and getting their hair wet, they buck you like a wild bronco. Do you know what is wrong with their faith? It's dead. Because friend, if you don't have enough life in your faith to get you into a pool of water, you don't have enough life in your faith to get you into heaven. But this wise ...

988. Whatever It Takes

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... thought to himself—a thousand villages! No missionary! No gospel! No Christ! No salvation! No life! No light! Nothing but sin and death and darkness! God, I will go to Africa. As the pioneer minister to Africa, Livingston walked not only through a jungle of wild beasts and poisonous snakes and thick brush, but he walked through a personal jungle of hurt and heartache. One day a huge lion leaped on him and clamped his teeth on his shoulder and crushed it and he never was able to use his arm again ...

989. Faithful Fathers Fortify Families

Deuteronomy 6:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... 21. His dad gave him a big birthday party and a new car; sat him down and said, "Now that you are a man, you'll be earning your own living and going your own way. But I want to give you a final word of advice. "Don't go wild with your new freedom. For example, don't start hanging out in those topless bars that you read about." The boy said, "Why not?" He said, "I'll tell you why not. For one thing you'll see a lot of things that you shouldn't see." Well, as many ...

990. How to Handle the Mess of Stress

Exodus 18:23-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... stool, and they can pretty much mesmerize that lion and make that lion do what they want it to do. It's the most important tool of the trainer. If you've ever noticed, he holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. Now why is this so effective? Because that lion will try to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms him and he will become tame, weak, and disabled because his attention is fragmented.5 Not even ...

991. Repeat After Me

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... says to the Philippians, "Beware of the dogs." Now some dogs can be man's best friend, but others can be the church's worst enemy. The word dogs here is a Greek word that refers not to a cute little house pet; it refers to wild dogs, mongrels of the street that would run around in packs looking for something to attack. These were people known as Judaizers, and they followed Paul around from church to church, nipping at his heels, trying to add works to salvation, teaching false doctrines, spreading false ...

992. No Fear

Psalm 23:4

Sermon

James Merritt

... purpose of the rod was to guard the sheep. That shepherd would take that rod and he would drive pieces of metal into the knob, and with that rod he could use it as a club to kill bears, and snakes, and to drive off wolves and all kinds of wild animals. Whenever the sheep would see the rod in that shepherd’s hand, there would be a calmness because they knew the shepherd could guard them. But the shepherd also had a staff. Now where the rod was to guard the sheep, the staff was to guide the sheep. One ...

993. The Marks Of A Spiritual Counterfeit

Jude 1:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jere. 17:7-8) IV. They Are Precarious Like Wild Waves They are called “raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame.” (v.13) My absolute favorite place in the world to be is at the ocean. It is not because I am a sun person, because I’m really not. It’s not even so much because ...

994. The Near Edge of God

Jn 1:1-3, 14

Sermon

... than you need to consider (given my sense that your eyes are moments removed from glazing over). All of this is related to what we call "Chaos Theory." Which is a term I have recoiled against for years, because it sounded like reality was random, purposeless and wildly-out-of-control (all of which seem like synonyms for Godless). Perhaps "chaos" is a bad choice of words, but it doesn't mean what it sounds like. It simply means that the universe is a giant web. Any place you touch it, everything else will ...

995. Fueling a Habit

Mt 13:24-30

Illustration

King Duncan

... of country music revere the name of the late George Jones. Jones had enough hit songs on his hundred or so albums to make the careers of ten singers. But along with George Jones' talent and genius comes a dark side. Jones has a reputation for wild living and self-destructive behavior. In the past he struggled with a serious addiction to alcohol and drugs. His addictions were so severe that Jones would literally do anything to fuel his habit. At one time, George was almost outwitted by his then-wife, Tammy ...

996. Our Lord's Abundant Table - Sermon Starter

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

Charles Swindol tells a funny story about a nine-year-old named Danny who came bursting out of Sunday school like a wild stallion. His eyes were darting in every direction as he tried to locate either mom or dad. Finally, after a quick search, he grabbed his Daddy by the leg and yelled, "Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!" His father looked down, ...

997. And the Angel Said to Harry Potter

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

... 't get me wrong. These are not Christian stories. But I remember G. K. Chesterton's observation that his own journey to Christian faith began with his childhood absorption in fairy tales. For from fairy tales he learned that "while the world is a wild and startling place, it is also precious and coherent, full of unseen connections and decisive truths." And what does Chesterton mean by "unseen connections"? He means that in the midst of all that scares and startles us (in the dark….in the night….under ...

998. Motorcycle Churches

Matthew 14:22-36

Illustration

King Duncan

... are not surprised to find clergy persons looking at their merchandise; motorcycle salespersons are. Why? Does this tell us something about clergy persons and about the church? Lawn mowers are slow, safe, sane, practical, and middle-class. Motorcycles are fast, dangerous, wild, thrilling." Then Wes asks a question: "Is being a Christian more like mowing a lawn or like riding a motorcycle? Is the Christian life safe and sound or dangerous and exciting?" He concludes, "The common image of the church is pure ...

999. Run Faster!

Matthew 14:22-33

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... my daughter's track meet. On the fourth and final lap of the boys' mile run everyone was clumped together except for the two front-runners who were leading the pack by a few yards. As the runners came toward the finish line, the crowd began to cheer wildly. Just then I happened to look about three quarters of a lap back, and there, hopelessly last, was a short portly kid who never should have WALKED a mile, let alone run one. His entire body was wobbling towards the finish line and his bright red face was ...

1000. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . He ordered the storm to be quiet, and a great calm fell upon the Sea. As we consider this story we see right away the cause of excessive fear in any situation. ANYTIME YOUR SOURCE OF SECURITY IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN YOU, THEN FEAR RUNS WILD. The disciples were still rookies in their relationship with Jesus; therefore, they weren't yet sure who he was or how much they could depend on him. They assumed that their main protection against the storm was the little boat, and it was clearly not strong ...

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