Search for sermons - Matthew 19
The Miserable Millionaire: Christ Speak to the Problem of Misplaced Priorities - Matthew 19:16-26 - Feb 18, 2001 - 116
It has been almost ten years since I last preached on the story of the Rich Young Ruler. That fact wouldn't matter except that in 1991 I started my sermon with the story of a man named Lee Atwater. In the estimation of many people, he was the man most responsible for electing George Bush president i ... More
Forever and Ever, Amen! - Matthew 19:6 - Nov 12, 2006 - 538
Let's begin with a little quiz. What well-known television actor said the following? "To me the greatest Latin lover in the world was may Dad, who married my mother and was faithful to her until the day he died 55 years later. Now, that's a great lover–a man who's intelligent and romantic en ... More
What Does the Bible Say About Divorce and Remarriage? - Matthew 19:1-12 - Nov 23, 1997 - 526
Perhaps the place to begin is with a few quotes taken from The Abolition of Marriage by Maggie Gallagher: "Over the past 30 years a consistent 96% of the American public has expressed a personal desire for marriage. Only 8% of American women consider remaining single ideal, a proportion that has not ... More
A Place to Share - Acts 4:32-37 - Feb 7, 1999 - 6
This is the third sermon in the four-part series "A Place to Belong." In this series we are examining the incredible dynamic that made the early church reach so many people so quickly. As I noted in the first sermon, the first Christians had none of the advantages we consider necessary today: No big ... 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
The Tower That Fell: Why God Stopped the Building Program - Genesis 11:1-9 - Sep 29, 2002 - 236
"Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth" (Genesis 11:4).Think of it! A tower that reaches to the heavens. And we thought that we had big ambitions. This one takes th ... 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 much ... More
What the Bible Says About Homosexuality - Various - Oct 22, 1989 - 133
Perhaps the place to begin this morning is with the simple confession that I did not want to preach this message. It was not part of my preaching calendar and I did not make the final decision until two and a half weeks ago. My hesitations were very simple: As the brand-new pastor of Calvary Memoria ... More
Amending Our Church Constitution to Define Marriage - Oct 10, 2004
AMENDING OUR CHURCH CONSTITUTION TO DEFINE MARRIAGE by Ray Pritchard Last spring the elders appointed a task force to work on revising our church constitution in several key areas. This marks the first time since we approved our current constitution in 1992 that we have made any changes. The task fo ... More
"They Gave Themselves First to the Lord" Why Giving Begins with the Heart, Not the Pocketbook - II Corinthians 8:1-5 - Sep 7, 2003 - 698
Last night some Moody students came over to our house for some pizza and to watch a football game. One of them asked what I planned to preach on today. When I told him, he said, "Too bad." Then, "Too bad you have to preach about money." I laughed and said it didn't bother me at all. This morning a f ... More
Will 1999 Be a Happy New Year? - Philippians 4:10-13 - Jan 3, 1999 - 362
This week I made a list of things to worry about as we start the new year. These things are not personal in nature, rather they touch on national and international issues that affect all of us.1. The impeachment crisis in WashingtonNo one can say with certainty what will happen when the trial of Pre ... More
Dice in the Prayer Meeting: Making Tough Decisions with God's Help - Acts 1:21-26 - May 3, 1998 - 640
4 … 9 … 30 … 34 … 48 … 8. Do you know what those numbers mean? Frank and Shirley Capaci of Streamwood know because those numbers won them $104 million this week in the largest lottery in American history. On Tuesday and Wednesday millions of people in 20 states ... More
Taking The Plunge - Apr 5, 1990
Of all the issues that divide Christians, none is more hotly debated than the issue of baptism. For centuries godly men and women have come down on different sides of this question. Entire denominations have sprung up as a result of disagreements over the mode, meaning, and purpose of baptism.The wi ... More
Is It Time Yet? Don't Forget the First Rule of the Spiritual Life - Acts 1:6-7 - Mar 8, 1998 - 635
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." Acts 1:6-7 A few days ago I happened to be in my car at noon when the Paul Harvey ... More
Who Is Jesus Christ? Article D: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ - Various - Mar 15, 1992 - 751
Tonight we are coming to the most critical doctrine in the Articles of Faith. Other doctrines are important as establishing foundational truth (the inerrancy of the Bible, the Trinity) or as explaining what we believe in a particular area (eternal security, the premillennial return of Christ), but ... More
Ballistic Christianity - Matthew 9:35-38 - Feb 25, 2007 - 803
It must have been about twenty-two years ago that our family attended a week-long Bible conference at a Christian conference center near North Platte, Nebraska. A family in the church I pastored in Garland, Texas paid for all our expenses so we could make the trip. I don’t recall much about th ... More