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Sermon
Harry N. Huxhold
Andrew Young, former delegate to the United Nations and former mayor of Atlanta, finally published the book he claims he should have written ten years ago. The book, The Way Out of No Way, contains Young's observations about how real change occurs. He notes that changes for the better do not happen simply because we teach people how to work better or harder. Reforms take place when people exert...
Sermon
Mark Ellingsen
Decisions, decisions. Life is full of decisions. In fact, a number of philosophers and psychologists tell us that the decisions we make (or our behavior) largely make us who we are. Life is nothing but decisions. How do we make them in a Christian manner? We Christians believe that by his resurrection on Easter, Christ has given us new life (1 Peter 1:3). You have been given a new life! Now that ...
Sermon
Richard A. Jensen
Everyone, it seems, is interested in my numbers. I go to the grocery store to buy some groceries. After the checkout woman rings up my bill, I pull out my checkbook and write out the check. She takes it from me. She looks at the information. Numbers tell her where I live. Numbers tell her how to reach me on the telephone. "Is this information correct?" she asks. "Yes, it is," I reply. "May I see y...
Sermon
Brett Blair
It is small wonder that the image of the shepherd was frequently upon the lips of the savior. It was a part of his heritage and culture. Abraham, the father of the nation, was the keeper of great flocks. Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, when God called him into a special service. David was a shepherd boy called in from the fields to be the King of Israel. The imagery of t...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
When you hear the word of the Lord, as we find in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, reading only the 7th through the 10th verses of that gospel.  ‘So Jesus said again to them, truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go and out an...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
When do you have enough TV channels to choose from? According to the satellite TV industry, there is no such thing as enough. Every year more and more households are sticking out their own little satellite downloading system and beaming in anywhere from 100-600 channels of entertainment and information. Our overwhelming desire for this kind of electronic-overload is played for laughs in the commer...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
What kind of image do you associate with "the Lord is my shepherd"? Does your mind's eye more readily identify with the identity of "sheep" or "shepherd?" What are the responsibilities of sheep and of shepherds? What is expected of us? Have you ever been troubled by the biblical injunction that calls for separating the sheep from the goats? The problem with the analogy is that we know from m...
8. The Golden Gate
John 10:1-21
Sermon
Mike Ripski
Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” I. What is this life that Jesus gives abundantly? Have you received it? What difference has it made in you and is making in you? A. The Psalmist calls the Lord “my Shepherd, who gives me all I need.” This is what he does: “He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” In that day and culture, to eat with someo...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The new geographic “center“ of Christianity has shifted slightly. Anyone want to guess where the global geographic center of Christianity is now located? No, it’s not Vatican City. No it’s not some football stadium sized sanctuary in Texas. No, it’s not in South Korea, South Africa, or Southern Jerusalem. The wonderfully revealing new global center-point for Christianity, the new center of gra...
10. No Need to Worry
John 10:11-18; 27-30
Sermon
James Merritt
I want to make a confession to you that really pains me, because I hate to admit personal weakness, at least publicly, but if there is an Achilles heel in my life - it is worry. The truth of the matter is, if you just look around you, you realize that we all do have reasons to worry. I mean you have to stay out of the sun, because it can cause skin cancer. Air vents in public places can cause...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
God likes life, He invented it. It is to the full-flowing, free life that He invites us. I have lived my life by that simple motto. Jesus put it even better in John 10:10 which is the text I want to linger on today. “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly," or to the full, to the maximum. In our quest for Christian values, we must do some serious thinking about this thing...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
As the “wilderness” continues to shrink, the highly populated suburbs weirdly become the new “edges” of civilization. Why else would coyotes have become the greatest danger for small dogs and cats? Why else would deer have replaced moles, grubs, and crabgrass as the biggest landscaping challenge all over suburbia? The only thing worse than having all your flowers nipped off by marauding Bambi’s i...
Sermon
Robert Leslie Holmes
A pastor friend who lived in an apartment complex in San Francisco tells about the time that he and his wife parked their brand new Honda Accord under cover in the secured parking area next to their apartment complex. The next day they decided to celebrate the purchase of that new car by going out to breakfast together. Not only would they enjoy eating out together, it would give them another oppo...
14. The Shepherd
John 10:11-18
Sermon
John Jamison
He woke up just as the sun was peeking over the top of the mountains to the east, just as he had done every morning for the past couple of months. He took a few minutes to enjoy the beauty of it all, and then quickly got up and took a quick look in every direction to make sure everything was safe. He made one quick trip around the low, stone wall of the sheepfold, making sure the wall was still se...
15. The Good Life
John 10:11-18
Sermon
James Merritt
I read a story the other day id never heard before about Abraham Lincoln. He was surprised one day when a rough looking man drew a revolver and put it right in his face. Trying to remain as calm as he could Lincoln simply asked the man, “What seems to be the matter?” The stranger replied, “Well some years ago I swore an oath that if I ever came across an uglier man than I am I’d shoot him right on...
16. One For All
John 10:1-21
Sermon
King Duncan
Sometimes in our complex relations with Middle East countries, we are confronted with instances of barbaric forms of justice. We hear of people getting hands cut off for stealing, a princess stoned to death for adultery and so on. We need to remind ourselves that Christian history has also been full of barbaric acts. Humane treatment of wrongdoers and enlightened applications of justice are modern...
Sermon
King Duncan
Two television evangelists were talking. One was explaining how he was seeking to be the ideal shepherd to his television flock. “There are three ways I seek to do that,” he said. “What three ways do you mean?” asked the other evangelist. “Well” he explained, “First, we FIND them. Every year we find new stations to carry our ministry. Then we FEED them. I give them the plain unvarnished word of ...
Sermon
James Merritt
Whether you read or not, I am going to recommend a book to you that I want to warn you ahead of time if you read the first page you will stay up and not go to bed until you have finished it. It is at the same time, one of the most simulating, gripping, inspiring and yet depressing books that I have ever read in my life. The book is 102 Minutes: The Untold Story Of The Fight To Survive Inside The T...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
A famous actor was the guest of honor at a social gathering. As people gathered around, they asked the actor to recite excerpts from various literary works. He obliged and did so brilliantly. Finally, an elderly pastor asked the author to recite the 23rd Psalm. The actor hesitated at first and then agreed on one condition. The pastor would return the favor. The actor’s recitation was brilliant and...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Sometimes in human relationships, the more we know a person, the more we love them. Now that’s true, not because the more we know people, the greater they become in our eyes, because oftentimes as we know people, we begin to discover their weaknesses, their failures and faults, their shams and their shames. Now unlike our knowing other people, the more we know Jesus, the greater he becomes, and th...
Sermon
Thomas Long
The dinner party had gone well. It was the kind of evening when good food was matched by rich conversation and warm cheer. As the dishes were being cleared and cream was being stirred into after-dinner coffee, the conversation took a more serious turn. The guest of honor was a church leader from central Europe, the Soviet Union had come apart only months before, and the table was filled with eage...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
When the sun went down, life slowed down. That’s how it used to be. When illumination after dark meant a smoky oil lamp or a dangerously dripping tallow candle, there were limitations on activities. Forget all those Hollywood movies. The rich might have had enough candle-power (and servants) to light up a ball room or a banquet hall. But for common, everyday people, the light of one or two lamps ...
23. Abundant Life
John 10:1-21
Sermon
King Duncan
The college faculty gathered for their weekly meeting. A professor of archeology brought with him a lamp recently unearthed in the Middle East. It was reported to contain a genie, who, when the lamp was rubbed would appear and grant one wish. A professor of philosophy was particularly intrigued. He grabbed the lamp and rubbed it vigorously. Suddenly a genie appeared and made him an offer. He coul...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
A father was reading the paper and decided to share what he'd been reading with his teenage son. The article claimed that children today suffered from a lack of attention and which caused low educational achievements at school. Furthermore, the article said that children today are lazy, have little concentration and barely possess any listening skills at all. When he was finished the father asked,...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Once upon a time a man fell in love with his sports car. He drove it everywhere he went. He paid more attention to the car than he did to his family. When time came to make funeral arrangements he asked to be buried in it. Since money was not an issue, the man’s unusual request was granted. On a bright sunshiny day a crane lowered the sports car with the deceased man at the wheel into a gigantic g...
Showing 1 to 25 of 69 results