Search for sermons - Hebrews 11
Living by Faith in an Uncertain World - Hebrews 11:8-10 - Sep 16, 2001 - 51
He must have been in a hurry to get home to see his family. That’s the only reason his friends could think of to explain why Thomas Burnett of San Ramon, California changed his reservations and took an earlier flight last Tuesday morning. All his friends knew how much he loved his wife and his ... More
At Home with the Lord: What is the Christian View of Death? - Hebrews 11:20-22 - Jul 16, 2000 - 217
One of the first prayers I learned to pray was my bedtime prayer. I do not remember how old I was when I first learned it but I know I was just a young boy. Over the years it has helped millions of children get ready to go to bed. You probably know it by heart:Now I lay me down to sleepI pray Thee, ... More
Level Three Faith and How to Get There - Hebrews 11:13-16 - Sep 14, 2003 - 695
Every time a church enters a stewardship campaign, there is danger and there is also opportunity. The main danger is that the church will talk so much about money that people will begin to equate the whole of Christianity with money and will therefore begin to equate spirituality with how much or ho ... More
By Faith - Hebrews 11:1-2 - Jun 12, 2008 - 1156
With this message we are beginning a new series on Hebrews 11 called Outrageous Faith. I have a personal interest in this chapter that goes back to the first church I pastored immediately after graduating from seminary in May 1978. Two months later I preached my first sermon as pastor of a small chu ... More
The Fifth Law: Active Faith Releases God's Power - Hebrews 11 - Mar 24, 2002 - 552
Let’s begin by reviewing the first four laws of the spiritual life:Law 1: He’s God and We’re Not.Law 2: God Doesn’t Need Us But We Desperately Need Him.Law 3: What God Demands, He Supplies.Law 4: What You Seek, You Find.Each law covers a major area of our relationship with Go ... More
The Incredible Journey - Hebrews 11:8-10 - Jul 10, 2008 - 1158
I received an email from someone who is struggling with some decisions that have not worked out the way they expected. The details don’t matter except to say that the person took what seemed to be a step of faith and the result has been a great big mess. “What did I do wrong?”That ... More
Four Cracked Pots - Hebrews 11:32 - Feb 16, 2009 - 1190
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah” (Hebrews 11:32).Long-winded preachers, take note of this verse. When you know you are running out of time, summarize and get to the main point as fast as you can. Rookie preachers make the mista ... More
It’s the Faith, Brother - Hebrews 11:3-7 - Jun 19, 2008 - 1157
“It’s the faith, Brother.”That’s what Tim Russert said to Jon Meacham when he invited him to appear on Meet the Press to debate noted atheist Christopher Hitchens. He told Meacham he had a “great deal” for him. “You gotta come down and defend the faith, Brot ... More
Why We Keep Believing - Hebrews 11:13-16 - Aug 12, 2008 - 1160
If you don’t believe in heaven, you can skip this sermon.That may seem like an odd way to begin, but it’s a true statement, and truth is always a good place to start. Everything in this sermon is about heaven. And if you don’t believe in heaven, then a lot of this sermon won’ ... More
The Blessing of a Believing Spouse - Hebrews 11:11-12 - Jul 23, 2008 - 1159
This is the story of Sarah’s faith. It is the story of one woman who together with her husband believed God and received a very great reward. It is also a story about the enormous blessing of having a believing spouse. If man has a wife who believes in Jesus, he is greatly blessed, and if a wi ... More
Miracles Come in Many Varieties - Hebrews 11:33-38 - Feb 22, 2009 - 1191
The Next Hero - Hebrews 11:39-40 - Mar 8, 2009 - 1192
Twice recently Marlene has brought up a song by Steve Green called Find Us Faithful. It’s a song that any Christian would find moving, but parents especially will ponder its message. Marlene said she has been thinking about this particular verse: After all our hopes and dreams have come ... More
The Final Difference Between the Church and the World - Hebrews 11:29 - Oct 13, 2008 - 1168
“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea? as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29).My aim in this sermon is to show you the final difference between the church and the world. The key word is “final,” by which I mean the ... 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
If I Should Die Before I Wake - Hebrews 11:20-22 - Sep 10, 2008 - 1164
One of the first prayers I learned to pray was my bedtime prayer. I do not remember how old I was when I first learned it, but I know I was just a young boy. Over the years it has helped millions of children get ready to go to bed. You probably know it by heart:Now I lay me down to sleep ... More
From Adam to Noah: Lessons from a Genealogy - Genesis 5 - Jul 21, 2002 - 229
I begin this sermon with a confession. In my quarter-century as a pastor, I believe this is the first sermon I have ever preached from a genealogy. There is a reason for that, which I’m sure you already understand. To most people, the genealogies are the most boring part of the Bible. If you r ... More
From Rahab to Jesus - Hebrews 11:31 - Feb 7, 2009 - 1189
“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Hebrews 11:31).There are certain occupations that we associate with certain biblical characters. To say a particular name immediately brings a certain occupation to mind. Abra ... More
Shall We Kill Our Children Today? - Hebrews 11:23 - Sep 23, 2008 - 1166
Are children a burden or a blessing?I suppose it all depends on who you ask or what you mean or why the question even matters at all. If you have to ask the question, you are bound to come to the wrong answer. The Bible is clear enough on this point. “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, childre ... More
The World According to God - Daniel 2 - Nov 21, 1999 - 153
This is one of the pivotal chapters of the Bible. Daniel 2 contains important truth about world history from God’s point of view. You won’t learn what this chapter teaches at any secular university, yet it is entirely trustworthy. One writer calls Daniel 2 “the Prophetic Alphabet&r ... More
Don't Get Fleeced! - Judges 6 - Oct 24, 1993 - 387
Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is wha ... More
It's Okay Not to Know - Mar 29, 1996
So much of what we need to know can’t be learned quickly. Nor can it be learned in a classroom. The things that really matter are discovered only in the laboratory of life. Finding God’s will is often like that. As a pastor I am often asked questions about the will of God. I have dis ... More
Payday Someday: Why I Believe in Heaven and Hell - Various - Nov 26, 1995 - 797
This morning we come face to face with the most basic question of all: What happens when we die? For thousands of years men and women have pondered this question and offered differing answers. The materialist says that there is no such thing as a soul or spirit so that when we die, we simply ceas ... More
The Martyrs - Daniel 3:17-18 - Dec 5, 1999 - 156
The word martyr has the sound of antiquity about it. It’s a word that belongs to the days of Jesus and the apostles, and to the persecuted early Christians who were thrown to the lions in Rome. A few of us have read in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs about the persecution of God’s children ... More
What Is Your Isaac? - Hebrews 11:17-19 - Aug 27, 2008 - 1162
Certain Bible stories need no introduction. They are so well known that even people outside the church who may never actually read the Bible have heard them. Adam and Eve. Noah and the ark. Moses at the Red Sea. Joshua and the walls of Jericho. David and Goliath. Daniel in the lions’ den. An ... More
What is Heaven Like? - Philippians 3:20-21 - Jan 18, 1998 - 521
"Heaven is a place, just as much a place as is New York or Chicago.” Charles Ferguson Ball I begin this sermon with two statements that I believe to be almost universally true: Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there. Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Ameri ... More
Did I Make a Mistake? - Romans 8:28; Hebrews 11:8 - Oct 16, 2010 - 1265
What do you do when you think you’ve blown it but you aren’t quite sure?Maybe you shouldn’t have changed jobs. Maybe you shouldn’t have bought that new house. Maybe you shouldn’t have moved to a new city. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken that big promotion. Maybe yo ... More
The Greatest Risk You’ll Ever Take: “I Believe in God” - Hebrews 11:6 - Jan 18, 2004 - 643
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible declares God’s existence. It does not attempt to prove it. Certain things are so true that ... More
Why Jericho Fell - Hebrews 11:30 - Oct 30, 2008 - 1171
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30). Few stories in the Bible are better known than the story of Joshua and the battle for Jericho. We know it so well that when someone starts to tell the story, we subconsciously s ... More
Ziklag Is Burning! - I Samuel 27-30 - Oct 22, 2000 - 339
Once upon a time the devil decided to have a garage sale. He did it because he wanted to clear out some of his old tools to make room for new ones. After he set up his wares, a fellow dropped by to see what he had. Arrayed on a long table were all the tricks of his infernal trade. Each tool had a pr ... More
The Great Refusal - Hebrews 11:24-28 - Oct 2, 2008 - 1167
“The greatest thing you will ever do is learn how to say no.”I’m not sure who said that, but whoever it was spoke the truth. Nothing is harder than learning how to say no at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons. Life is made up of choices, in fact, that’s r ... More
God Is a Better Parent than We Are - Mar 13, 2005
GOD IS A BETTER PARENT THAN WE ARE by Ray Pritchard During my week at Word of Life Florida, I preached a series called “Samson: A Thoroughly Modern Man.” On Friday morning I wrapped up my final sermon by talking about how Samson came back to God just before he pushed the pillars apart and ... More
Song of a Slipping Saint - Psalm 73 - Feb 20, 2011 - 1273
Have you ever stopped believing? It can happen to any of us at any time because life is hard and sometimes very strange. If you live long enough, your faith is bound to be challenged many times. Psalm 73 tells the story of a godly man who felt his faith slipping away. Even though these words were wr ... More
But God Remembered Noah: Hope for Those Who Feel Forgotten - Genesis 8:1 - Aug 25, 2002 - 233
The story of Noah is very exciting until you get to Genesis 7. At that point, the story seems to get bogged down in details. There is information about the various animals brought on board, and also a very specific accounting regarding the precise dates when certain events relating to the flood took ... More
Nitty-Gritty Faith - Hebrews 11 - Dec 3, 1989 - 487
It is a pleasure to salute our young people today. They are the future of this church. And it is a pleasure to have our teenagers share in the morning service. In case you didn’t know, Bruce Smith made the announcements, Elizabeth Morris read the Scripture, and Tom Krumsieg led in prayer. A ... More
Fact or Fable in Genesis: Was the World Really Created in Six Days? - Genesis 1:1-2:3 - Apr 28, 2002 - 221
These are exciting days to study the book of Genesis. A great deal has been written on this book in the last few years and there has been much new research in the area of science and the Bible. It’s always a good thing to focus on issues that really matter. Sometimes in the church we spend too ... More
