Search for sermons - Genesis 3
Snake Eyes - Genesis 3:1-7 - Mar 8, 2006 - 46
"The literal Genesis record of supernatural creation is the foundation of the true gospel, the true doctrine of Christ, true evangelism, genuine saving faith, and of all the key aspects of biblical Christianity." "All truth–in every area of life–finds its beginning in the Genesis record ... More
The Wages of Sin: Why Nothing Works Right - Genesis 3:7-19 - Jun 9, 2002 - 227
Three hundred seventy-nine days ago, Martin and Gracia Burnham were captured by Muslim terrorists in the Southern Philippines. They were staying at the Dos Palmas resort off the island of Palawan when members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (an organization affiliated with the Al Qaeda terrorist network) to ... More
Farewell to Paradise: Cast Out That We Might Someday Return - Genesis 3:20-24 - Jun 16, 2002 - 225
Have you ever said something, and the moment the words flew from your lips, you said to yourself, "Oops"? To ask the question is to answer it because we've all had those moments when we knew even as the words left our lips that we should not have said them. Have you ever done something stupid and t ... More
Christ B.C. Part I: Seed of the Woman - Genesis 3:15 - Dec 3, 1995 - 69
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."This is the first promise given after the Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is also the first gospel sermon ever preached on the ... More
Snake Eyes: The Four Stages of Temptation - Genesis 3:1-7 - Jun 2, 2002 - 226
The Bible makes no sense unless we understand the first few chapters of Genesis. These chapters answer a very crucial question: Where did we come from and how did we get from where we started to where we are today? The way that question is worded suggests that somewhere along the way, a massive chan ... More
Men and Women in Biblical Perspective - Genesis 1-3 - Oct 18, 1992 - 132
I find myself in a peculiar position this morning. No matter what I say, or how carefully I say it, someone is bound to disagree with me. But that doesn't begin to cover the subject. Not only will some people disagree with me, even the people who agree with me will probably not agree with everything ... More
Christmas in Eden - Dec 23, 2001
CHRISTMAS IN EDEN by Ray Pritchard “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This is the first promise given after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. ... More
Christmas Hope - Hebrews 6:18-20 - Dec 24, 2000 - 97
This is Christmas Eve. Even though there is no command in the New Testament to celebrate Christmas, we happily join with millions of Christians around the world in remembering the birth of our Savior. "Joy to the world, the Lord is come!" And because he was born in Bethlehem, "the hopes and fears of ... More
"One Little Word Shall Fell Him": What the Cross Meant to Satan - Colossians 2:1 - Mar 14, 1999 - 673
By 6:00 p.m. the party had started in earnest. It was Friday evening and that meant the party would probably last all night and perhaps even into the next day. Everyone who heard the news could hardly believe it, but they knew that if it were true, this would be the party to end all parties. So they ... More
Why is There So Much Suffering in the World? - Isaiah 45:5-11 - Sep 4, 2005 - 147
Of all the questions that trouble the people of God, none is greater than the question posed in the title of this sermon. Sometimes, it is asked in other ways: Why do bad things happen to good people? Or, why do the wicked prosper, while the righteous take such a beating? Or, if God really has the p ... More
The Incorruptible Christ - Acts 2:24 - Apr 20, 2003 - 176
The first word is sometimes as important as the last word.Seven weeks had passed since the resurrection of Jesus. For 40 amazing days, Jesus appeared to his disciples on many occasions and taught them concerning the Kingdom of God. Then he ascended into the clouds and returned to his Father in heave ... More
From Jacob to Jesus - Genesis 49:10; Luke 1:33 - Dec 6, 1992 - 355
Our final study in the life of Jacob is different from all the rest. When we began, he was still in his mother's womb. When Genesis brings his story to a close, he is buried in the cave of Machpelah, along with his father and grandfather. In between, this man of restless faith never stopped movin ... More
Serving God in an Unbelieving World - I Peter 2:13-17 - Dec 5, 2004 - 595
"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant ... More
The Fool on the Hill: What the Cross Means to the World - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 - Jul 26, 2006 - 675
Every religion and every ideology has its own symbol. For the Buddhist it is the lotus flower. Judaism has the Star of David and Islam the crescent. In this century the communists were known for the hammer and the sickle and the Nazis for the swastika. In our day the democrats have the donkey and th ... More
The Incomparable Christ: "Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord" - Philippians 2:9-11 - Feb 15, 2004 - 647
Who is Jesus Christ? Of all the questions that might be posed to modern men and women, none is more important than this. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the central question of history and the most important issue anyone will ever face. Who is Jesus Christ? Where did he come from? Why did ... More
Not by Chance: "Maker of Heaven and Earth - Revelation 4:11 - Feb 1, 2004 - 646
Evolution was in the news this week. Actually the word "evolution" was in the news. The Georgia state school superintendent has proposed taking the word "evolution" out the biology curriculum. That's not as radical as it might sound since schools would still be required to teach evolution; they just ... More
Trouble in the Church! - Romans 16:17-20 - Sep 15, 2007 - 744
Greet one another with a holy kiss … but don't go kissing everyone.That will serve as a useful summary of our text. Sometimes it's not what you say but when you say it that matters. Paul writes these stern words immediately after a long paragraph extending personal greetings to various friend ... More
The First Christmas Miracle - John 15:22; Galatians 4:4 - Dec 19, 1999 - 77
"If I had not come" (John 15:22)."But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law" (Galatians 4:4). In the first verse, which is really just a fragment of a verse, Jesus invites us to consider a possibility. What if he had not come to earth? What if he had not bee ... More
The First Christmas Miracle - John 15:22; Galatians 4:4 - Dec 13, 2006 - 84
"If I had not come" (John 15:22)."But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law" (Galatians 4:4). In the first verse, which is really just a fragment of a verse, Jesus invites us to consider a possibility. What if he had not come to earth? What if he had not bee ... More
Back to Basics - John 7:16-17 - Jan 4, 2004 - 645
Each year at Calvary we choose a theme and a theme verse that serve as our ministry focus. We started doing that in 1991 and have continued every year since then. Sometimes we don't know until October or November what our theme for the next year will be. And sometimes there is quite a bit of discuss ... More
Led by the Spirit into the Wilderness - Luke 4:1-14 - May 22, 2005 - 201
This is the second message in our new series on the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday we talked about John 3:8 and how the Holy Spirit is the wind—invisible, unpredictable, uncontrollable. He comes and goes as he wishes; no one can control his movements. He alone can give life to the spiritually dead. ... More
Every Tree But One: Why Freedom Isn't Free - Genesis 2:4-17 - May 19, 2002 - 222
What is freedom? Ask the question of ten people and you will get at least ten different answers. One person says that freedom is the right to get drunk every weekend. Someone else says that freedom means doing whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. To another man freedom is sleeping with as ... More
The Days of Noah: Why God Sent the Flood - Genesis 6:1-8 - Jul 28, 2002 - 230
This is the first of several sermons on Noah and the flood. As we begin our study of this important event, I'd like to focus our attention on a very crucial point: If this story is true, that is, if it really happened, if there once was a great flood that covered the entire earth, then what the Bibl ... More
Murder One: Why Do We Hate Each Other? - Genesis 4:1-16 - Jul 7, 2002 - 231
This is the story of Cain and Abel. It is a story that is so well known that many people who never read the Bible know that Cain killed Abel. It has even entered our language as a synonym for troublemaking—Raising Cain. The phrase is appropriate because this story is dark and tragic from begin ... More
Many Nations Under God: A Biblical View of World History - Genesis 10 - Sep 15, 2002 - 235
At first glance Genesis 10 would not seem to offer much promise as a sermon text. To the untrained eye, it appears to be just one more biblical genealogy, although a closer examination reveals that it seems oddly different from the regular genealogies. From another point of view, it reads like an Ol ... More
The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage - Genesis 1:26-28; Revelation 22:17 - Sep 26, 2004 - 267
My story today begins a long way from Oak Park, and a long way from our current controversies. In order to get the proper perspective, let's go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. To quote a line from The Sound of Music: "Let's start at the very beginning, that's a very good place to sta ... More
Further Thoughts on "The Passion of the Christ" - Mar 2, 2004
Here are some answers to questions raised by the movie: ... More
Good, Pleasing, Perfect - Romans 12:2 - Nov 4, 2006 - 730
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).Bible translators handle the last phrase of verse 2 in various ways. Here are a few examples:"That you m ... More
Christ B.C. Part IV: Born of a Virgin - Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 - Dec 24, 1995 - 68
Christmas is an amazing time of year. Yesterday I ran across a statement that sums it up: "Isn't it amazing that a baby born in a stable 2,000 years ago can cause traffic jams this week?" I am thankful for this season. We Christians ought to enjoy Christmas more than anyone. Don't be a Scrooge ... More
Liar, Lord or Lunatic: Why I Believe in Jesus Christ - Various - Oct 22, 1995 - 792
Several years ago someone wrote a book called The Many Faces of Jesus. It happened to be the book Elvis Presley was reading when he died in Memphis, Tennessee. That title stands as a fitting symbol of the confusion surrounding Jesus in our time. Last month several thousand people filled Moody Mem ... More
Don't Bet On It: Gambling And The Christian Faith - Jul 25, 1991
"Gambling is inevitable." So began the introduction to the final report of the Commission on the Review of National Policy Toward Gambling. "No matter what is said or done by advocates or opponents of gambling in all its various forms, it is an activity which is practiced, or endorsed, by a substant ... More
The Sin No One Will Admit - Exodus 20:17 - Aug 16, 1992 - 723
We begin the final message in this series with the text of the Tenth Commandment: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." The key word "covet" is repeated, ... More
Is It Becoming Easier to Say "I Was Wrong?" - Luke 15:21 - Sep 15, 1991 - 789
The eyes of the nation focused on Milwaukee for one brief moment this week. Inside a hushed courtroom Jeffrey Dahmer entered a formal plea to the charges against him. First the reading of the charges. Then the question: "How do you plead?" His lawyer answered for him. "Not guilty by reason of ... More
The Strangest Part of the Creed: He Descended into Hell - I Peter 3:18-19 - Apr 4, 2004 - 654
What happened to Jesus between his death and resurrection? We know his body was buried, but what about his spirit? Where was he and what was he doing between his death at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and his resurrection sometime before sunrise on Sunday morning? Christians have wondered about these things f ... More
The Triumphant Christ - I Peter 3:18-22 - Mar 13, 2005 - 599
This is the hardest passage in the New Testament. That’s what my Greek professor said when we were studying I Peter in seminary. I recall him saying that there are so many possible views about these verses that it is impossible to be certain what they mean. The problem partly relates to the Gr ... More