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The Sixth Law: There is No Growth Without Struggle - James 1:2-4 - Apr 7, 2002 - 555
Life is hard. Does anyone reading these words have any question about that? I didn’t think so. Because we live in a fallen world, nothing works the way it’s supposed to. Sin has stained every part of the physical universe. And sin has deeply infected the human bloodstream. Things break. ... More
What Was That I Never Heard You Say? - James 1:19 - Apr 8, 2006 - 539
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the woman who went to see a lawyer about getting a divorce. The lawyer decided it would be helpful if he could get a little background so he asked the woman if she had grounds for a divorce. “Yes,” she said, “as a matter of fact, about an ac ... More
Does God Lead His Children Into Temptation? - Matthew 6:13 - Oct 10, 2009 - 1223
“And lead us not into temptation.” Matthew 6:13aBefore we begin: What is the difference between temptation and testing? How can a temptation to sin become an avenue for spiritual growth? Does God lead his children into temptation? This is not an easy question to answer. We know what th ... 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
Nothing Shall Offend Them: A Message for Unhappy, Irritated, and Bent-Out-of-Shape Christians - Psalm 119:165 - Feb 3, 2002 - 399
For our final message in this short series from Psalm 119, I want to look at a verse I first learned in Mrs. Sandberg’s British Literature class 30 years ago. As she began class one day, she read a verse of Scripture that had been particularly meaningful to her. Then she quoted Psalm 119:165 f ... More
Praying for Your Prodigal - Ephesians 1:18 - Jun 25, 2006 - 496
I received an email with a heartrending question:I have a daughter that I don’t believe is saved. I pray for her but often times I can’t. I suppose that I’m angry she isn’t responding and feel incapable of helping her. What can I pray for on a daily basis so that she will com ... More
Forward-Leaning Defense - Sep 16, 2006
“There is no victory at bargain basement prices.” General Dwight Eisenhower“World War IV began in a long string of terrorist attacks, whose real nature went unrecognized until on September 11, 2001, huge billows of black smoke curled above New York City, Washington, D.C., and a fie ... More
Every Home a Little Church: - Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 - May 2, 1999 - 300
As the home goes, so goes the church. Everything we believe begins in the home where we learn to worship, to pray, to sing, and to read God’s Word. When Christian homes are strong, the church is strong. But when the homes are weak, the church cannot make up the difference. Deuteronomy 6:7 tell ... More
God Unchanging - Romans 11:28-29 - Aug 17, 2006 - 772
When I was a teenager in Alabama, I spent a week at a Methodist church camp. This was during the revolutionary days of the 60s when the talk was of LSD, the Beatles, hippies, the Vietnam War and protest in the streets. No one had heard of fax machines, virtual reality, personal computers, DVDs or ... More
Gentleness: Power Under Control - Oct 13, 2002
GENTLENESS: POWER UNDER CONTROL by Ray Pritchard “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 I have a friend who learned this verse the hard way. Whenever she said something in a harsh tone, her mother made her write this verse 50 times on a sheet of ... More
Overcoming Lingering Bitterness - Genesis 45 - Dec 15, 2002 - 706
On Thursday morning, November 21, as the sun was peeking over the horizon in the port city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, Bonnie Penner Witherall was up early. On this day she was going to work at the prenatal clinic that offered medical services to the Muslim women from a nearby refugee camp. Tensio ... More
From Temptation to Triumph - Nov 12, 1996
Playwright Oscar Wilde once jokingly remarked, “I can resist everything except temptation.” We smile when we read those words because they speak an important truth about the human condition. Temptation pays a visit to each of us every day and most of us struggle to say no.“Pastor ... More
The Right Stuff - Matthew 5:5 - Jan 21, 1996 - 53
I clearly remember the first time the Beatitudes caught my attention. During the summer of 1980 Marlene and I traveled to Bogota, Columbia, to spend two weeks working with some missionaries we had met six years earlier. Our oldest son was six months old at the time. During our visit we spent seve ... More
Dancing With the Devil - Genesis 13 - Apr 14, 1996 - 16
While most of you were eating Easter dinner my youngest son and I set out on a quick trip to Alabama. We journeyed back to my home in order to surprise my mother on her 75th birthday last Monday. It was the first time that my brothers and I had gotten together in seven years. We truly did surpris ... More
God Unchanging - 1 Samuel 15:29 - Apr 13, 1997 - 473
When I was a teenager in Alabama, I spent a week at a Methodist church camp. This was during the revolutionary days of the 60s when the talk was of LSD, the Beatles, hippies, the Vietnam War and protest in the streets. No one had heard of fax machines, virtual reality or compact discs. Even though I ... More
The Tragedy of Double Vision - Matthew 5:8 - Feb 25, 1996 - 57
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”This beatitude stands alone. It is unlike all the others. In many ways, this is the most unexpected thing Jesus ever said. It is not difficult to believe—like Blessed are the meek. It is not difficult to apply—like Blessed ... More
Living in Hard Times - 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8 - Sep 22, 1996 - 322
"You’ve heard about Stacy, haven’t you?” No, I hadn’t. In fact, I hadn’t seen him in the 13 years since I left the church I pastored in California. Back then he was a very active 10-year-old. The question came from his mother Karen. I hadn’t heard from her in ... More
How Can I Learn to Forgive? - Matthew 18:21-35 - Sep 21, 1997 - 531
Here are some of the questions people asked about forgiveness: • What really is forgiveness? • How can one do it? • What does it do for the forgiver? • How do you find it in yourself to forgive when you think you can’t or don’t even want to because of anger and ... More
SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN: HOW TO HANDLE ANGER AND BITTERNESS - MATTHEW 18:21-35 - Jul 24, 1988 - 429
This is not the first itme I have preached this sermon at Northeast Bible Church. As a matter of fact, I have preached it twice before — the first time in the summer of 1983 and the second time in the summer of 1987.This is a sermon about forgiveness. Not about God’s forgiveness of us, b ... More
Marriage Conference - Various - Jul 19, 1993 - 428
Is Anything Too Hard For God? The Doctrine of God's Omnipotence - Jeremiah 32:17 - Mar 9, 1997 - 472
This is the third and final sermon on the “omni” attributes of God. I have remarked earlier that these attributes are difficult to grasp because they describe truths about God that have no analog in human experience. We are limited as to place, power and personal knowledge. God is not. T ... More
God Is So Good! - Psalm 107:1 - Apr 20, 1997 - 474
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” 1 Chronicles 16:34a “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” Psalm 145:9 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8 Let’s begin with a definition, ... More
Midnight Miracle - Luke 22:49-51 - Jun 18, 2009 - 818
When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and heale ... 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 12:2Bible translators handle the last phrase of verse 2 in various ways. Here are a few exa ... More
The Lord Who is Faithful - Deuteronomy 7:9 - May 23, 1999 - 680
Today we are beginning a new sermon series entitled “The God You Can Trust.” For the next six Sundays we will be looking at what the Bible says about the faithfulness of God. In order to orient our thinking in the right direction, here are five Scriptures that introduce the topic: Exodus ... More
Justice: The Real American Dream - Proverbs 24:11-12 - Sep 18, 1994 - 623
I’d like to begin by telling you something that I ran across in a bookstore. I think you might be interested in this. When I started these sermons on Proverbs, I challenged you to take the Book of Proverbs and read it through in a month. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, 31 days in most month ... More
The Tongue: Life and Death Are In Your Mouth! - Proverbs 18:20-21 - Oct 9, 1994 - 618
Proverbs has a lot to say about what we say. In fact, the subject of the tongue and how we use our words is perhaps the preeminent theme of this book. Over 150 times in this book alone, Proverbs refers to our lips, our mouth and our tongue. One of the central issues of the Book of Proverbs is how yo ... More
