Showing 1 to 25 of 69 results
Sermon
James Merritt
... and you will never pay interest again. You think you and that guy might become best buddies? This manager with one stroke of the pen had turned his clients into best buddies and the way he did it was so clever. When he asked these debtors, “How much ... very little is also dishonest in much.If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” (Luke 16:10-11, ESV) Do you notice that Jesus calls money, “a very little thing”? What we think is a big thing is ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... great perils of the church is that is offers a static faith which looks back instead of forward. The riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible, therefore, we should ever be going forward. (Ever seeking to probe the mystery ... instructions across, so he said, “Now, what does it mean to have a buddy?” A little boy raised his hand and said, “A buddy is someone who drowns with you.” The church, at its best, has a buddy system. We are a caring community but caring doesn’t come naturally. We ...
3. Adopted
Ephesians 1:1-14
Sermon
King Duncan
... many positive experiences of being adopted. For some reason it surprised Gary that Steve was adopted. Gary and Steve had been best buddies for 23 years when, out of the blue, in December 1998, Gary got a phone call from a woman with the Connecticut ... become my adopted child. “You see, my Son who died was my only child, and I now want to share my life with you and leave my riches to you. This may not make sense to you or anyone else, but I believe you are worth the offer. I have arranged matters so that if ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... the gates of our consciousness. Love sees. That’s the first thing we need to understand from this parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Love sees. The rich man passed this poor beggar day after day and never really saw him until it was too late. You and I ... love acts. One guy was trying to be humorous. He told about a friend of his. He said, “Old George and I are great buddies. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for one another. And that’s how we’ve spend our lives doing nothing for one another.” ...
5. The Unveiled Truth
Exodus 34:29-35
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
... need such a God, that God is there for us. The God who we "chat with" can never leave us speechless. The God who is our buddy cannot be our mighty fortress. At the same time that we seek to recover the majesty of God, we need to remind ourselves that God does ... world where many are passed over, where gay people are ridiculed and people of color oppressed; a world where the gap between rich and poor grows ever greater; a world where women and children are abused; a world where illness can be chronic and ...
6. No Excuse
Luke 14:15-24
Sermon
James Merritt
... calling his friends. He has gone completely through his contact list. One by one he cannot believe what he is hearing. One buddy said he had to take his child to soccer practice. Another friend said he and his wife usually go grocery shopping that ... told it was wrong to play cards. It was wrong to dance. It was wrong to go to movies. I Timothy 6:17 says that “God…richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (I Timothy 6:17, ESV) Jesus and joy always go together and always stay together. We’ve all been ...
Sermon
James W. Moore
... his call to service and discipleship. Follow him and you will find the greatest treasure this world has ever known. That’s number one: The Rich Young Ruler was not able to prioritize… and the question for us is: Can we? II. SECOND, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO LOVE. He could ... his freedom, he saw his friend and he realized that his friend had not been selected. Quickly, the soldier motioned his buddy to follow him. Discreetly, they went behind one of the barracks. The soldier turned his duffel bag upside down and ...
8. The Loser
Mark 10:17-31
Sermon
James Merritt
... about Jesus - perhaps he had heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of God. Maybe being a Pharisee like Nicodemus, maybe they were buddies and maybe Nicodemus had told him how Jesus told him he must be born again. Whatever it was this man realized of ... trying to give everything to you that really matters. When you follow Jesus you just get on the road that takes you to the greatest riches of all, the greatest wealth of all, the greatest possession of all, which is eternal life. In a way there is a cost to eternal ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... can snarf down a whole “snack sack” without growing our gut. Or so we think. Then there is Burger King “buddies” and McDonald’s “mini-meals.” Fast food outlets are offering greasy goodies in smaller sizes. They aren’t “diet foods ... on the outside, but a diet faith can’t be sustained in the long-haul and has no energy to change the world. You need a faith rich in the devotional life and steeped in the Word off God. Here’s a Heart-Smart Test of how healthy your heart is: Does your heart ...
10. Dead or Alive?
Joel 2:28-32
Sermon
... wheel of the Cadillac. As the crane lifted the machine and began lowering it into the vault, one of the man’s buddies nudged another standing close by and said, "Man, that’s living!" That, I fear, is like the living that is turning us ... And if we are alive, whether we are striving toward greater maturity in Christ. Where do we fit in the picture of Lazarus, the rich man and his brothers, and the context of eternity? Are we, through the revelation in Jesus, choosing life and fulfillment? Or are we ...
Sermon
Leonard Mann
... Well, using St. Paul as the point of beginning, I want to speak in the affirmative "a few kind words" concerning the incalculable richness of the whole gospel of Jesus Christ, using as a background the flavoring of the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. Internal Dimension ... of God. To paraphrase Smith, in one place, he asks to keep on being the big God "I don’t want you to be my buddy," he says. The time has come in the history of the faith when we need to take giant steps upward and see the fullness of ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... fact, Jesus gives us a vivid image of the fact that we cannot “take it with us.” He said it is as likely to find a “rich man” in the kingdom of God, as it is to find a lumpy, grumpy old camel sliding through the eye of a needle. Forgetaboutit! We all ... old rapper named Ervin McKinnes just signed a record deal last month (September 2012), and got drunk with four of his buddies. Instead of using a designated driver, they decided to drive anyways, and the last tweet the rapper would ever send said this ...
Sermon
James Merritt
... golf I have learned is this: in reality you don't play against someone else—you really play against the course. Two of my best buddies are the Hines brothers. Frank is a scratch golfer and his brother Scott is not far behind. When I play with them if I ... said, "I'll give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive your competitor will receive twice as much. Do you want to be rich? You can be rich, but he'll be twice as wealthy. Do you want to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be ...
Sermon
Susan R. Andrews
... be more comfortable in Starbucks than in most of our churches. Riffing off this Starbucks image, I want to agree with Maya Angelou that we need Jesus to visit us again, and we need to recover the radical, rich, and real power that the living Christ offers us inside the church and out. Rather than a bland buddy or pious preacher, the Jesus we meet in scripture is more of a bold barista preparing the unique jolt of spiritual caffeine each of us needs to live our lives fully. And what the church at its best ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... hooked up right away. The couple then sit around in their pj's discussing channel-surfing with their new buddy, all thoughts of their former togetherness abandoned. The theme in all of these commercials is that people are so ... verse 8). Sheep are good receivers. They might not be creative or clever. But they can find and follow the frequency that promises them a life of rich pastures and safe sheepfolds. Isn't it comforting to know that Christ offers us the gift of abundant life if we can just manage to be ...
Sermon
Jerry L. Schmalemberger
... of it even at the time we die. It must be what Jesus was saying in the Sermon on the Mount: "... store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal" (Matthew 6:20). Just think how ... of life even after our death, while we live and struggle here with illness and death, and at conception and the birth of new life. Buddy Hackett’s bad news and very bad news need not be so for us who are God’s baptized family. Nevertheless, for a while, we ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... down we know that they have something we desperately need. Forget their theology, overlook their spiritual pride, get beyond their superficial of buddy-buddy relationship with God, and we may discover that we’re looking for the same thing. And what is it? One, a solid ... would be determined by whether we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the prisoner, and proclaimed to all - rich and poor, educated and uneducated, white and black and red and brown - proclaim to all the acceptable ear of Lord ...
18. Fish Bites
Acts 17:32-34
Sermon
James Merritt
... be in the fishing business and I've told you that those of us who are followers of Christ are to be His fishing buddies. Today we need to talk about the fish. Let me tell you what I mean by fish. Fish are your unchurched friends, neighbors, and ... seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
... forgiveness. A friend listened to his buddy describe why he was hesitant to marry. Among his many reasons was that his fiancée failed to make him completely happy. Finally the friend said to his buddy, —you don’t need a wife, ... The history of marriage is a many splintered thing. For centuries marriages were arranged by parents. Polygamy was a common practice among the rich. Women had few rights until the 20th century. The Council of Trent in 1563 made Roman Catholic marriages a religious ceremony. The ...
20. David and Bathsheba
2 Samuel 11:1-27, 12:1-31
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... wanting him to do to make the cover-up work). For that matter, Uriah is not just objecting to having it better than his buddies - he knows the Israelite rules of holy war (even though he is not an Israelite); as a warrior who must return to battle, he ... his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... and favored status we will ever need. Recently Robin Leach, host of the TV show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, said, "After interviewing hundreds of rich and famous people, it is clear to me that money and fame do not automatically make people happy. It ... law allows us and empowers us to "Tackle the Tough Tasks" of our faith. The Bible teacher, Steve Brown, tells of a Christian buddy who has a niche ministry to those who drive Harley motorcycles. He wrote this tract that he uses to witness to these rough ...
22. Advent 1
1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31
Sermon Aid
E. Carver McGriff
... , we go for long periods of time with very little attention to your Spirit. Deep within us, though, is a hunger for the richness of that presence. Overcome in us, we ask, our dullness of mind, that we may know your presence and its saving power. In ... scanner. Nor is it strictly speaking for anyone in my age category no matter how much I might like a virtual pet -- named Buddy, of course. What I have here is the latest, most seductive gift-gouging gadget created since children began wanting more for Christmas ...
23. For The Love Of What?
Psalm 137:1-9, John 2:12-25
Sermon
Erskine White
... to a recent survey. Around dinner time, you can watch "Three's Company," where a man lives with two women, or "Bosom Buddies," where men dress up as women. Then you can watch "Who's the Boss" and see an unmarried couple jump into bed ... learn? Do we want them to learn that sex is casual, without commitment or consequences? Do we want them to learn that adultery is okay because rich people on "Dallas" do it? This is what we are up against! "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" And I, ...
24. How’s Your Appetite?
Matthew 5:6 · Luke 14:1-14
Sermon
Wallace H. Kirby
... and that Beatitude which says, "Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled." Once there was a rich man who hired a manager to look after his business. After a while he picked up some of the scuttlebutt going around about ... before you found us," he said, "it rained. A bucket in the raft caught some of the fresh rain water. I tried to give some of it to my buddy. It would have saved his life. But his mind was wandering. He had the idea I was trying to give him sea water to poison him and finish him ...
Sermon
Leonard Mann
... on shipboard who was miserably seasick. One of his friends found him hanging over the ship’s rail and said, "Cheer up, buddy; nobody ever died from being seasick." "Don’t tell me that," said the poor, pallid victim with a groan, "it’s only ... proper image of the future, then get all of it into your picture. In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus gives us the parable of a rich landowner whose lands one season brought forth so abundantly that his barns were too small for the harvest. He commanded his servants to tear them ...
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