Search for sermons - Matthew 6
The Hardest Prayer You Will Ever Pray - Matthew 6:10 - Oct 26, 2007 - 382
Some prayers are harder to pray than others. I learned that thirty-three years ago when my father died. One October day he felt a pain in his shoulder. The doctors later said it was transferred pain from a bacterial infection elsewhere in his body. It did not seem serious at first, but he got no bet ... More
Forgiveness and the Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:12 - May 18, 2003 - 755
"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12 KJV).The fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer seems simple enough, but simple things can sometimes be very deep. Everyone agrees that this is a difficult word from the Lord. It is hard to understand and even harder to apply. O ... More
The Fourth Law: What You Seek, You Find - Matthew 6:33 - Mar 17, 2002 - 551
In this sermon series we are looking at the Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life. These “laws” are not exactly doctrines, not exactly duties,not exactly promises and not exactly rules. Each one represents a major truth that Christians need to know. They are like pillars that hold up a large ... More
Unless You Forgive - Matthew 6:12 - Oct 9, 2009 - 1222
“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 Before we begin: Which is more difficult for you: asking God to forgive you or forgiving a person who has sinned against you. The fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer seems simple enough, but simple things ca ... More
The First National Bank of Heaven - Matthew 6:19-21 - Nov 17, 1991 - 71
The results are in and the voters have spoken. Last night Edwin Edwards swamped David Duke in the governor’s race down in Louisiana. That is not a great surprise, given the avalanche of negative publicity against David Duke in the last few days. Perhaps the margin of victory was something of ... More
Invitation to the Heart of God - Matthew 6:9 - Oct 3, 2009 - 1216
“This, then, is how you should pray." Matthew 6:9 Before we begin: How old were you when you first learned the Lord’s Prayer? How often do you pray the Lord’s Prayer? Why does this prayer (of all the prayers in the Bible) matter so much? Come with me to Stuttgart, Germany in ... 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
The Treasure Principle - Matthew 6:19-34 - Apr 17, 2005 - 602
This is the second sermon in a two-part miniseries on God and our money. We’re doing this because we’re praying that God will help us pay off the remainder of the Legacy Campaign debt by Thanksgiving. Our greater goal is to get free of debt so we can move forward with our dream of becomi ... More
Deliver Us From Evil - Matthew 6:13 - Oct 11, 2009 - 1224
“And deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13b Before we begin: If you were Satan, how would you attack the children of God? How can our failures prepare us for greater things in the future? Out of the blue I got an e-mail message from my college roommate - a man I haven’t see ... More
Three Things Not To Worry About In 1990 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Dec 31, 1989 - 413
Let’s talk about Tom Selleck this morning. You know who he is, don’t you? He’s the photogenic star of the TV series Magnum P.I.. Tom Selleck is, as they say, a hunk. A few years ago he was unknown and then overnight he became a huge star.A few years ago he made his first movie& ... 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
His Eye Is On the Sparrow: The Doctrine of God's Omniscience - Psalm 145:4-5 - Feb 16, 1997 - 467
"If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer—His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable.” John NewtonThis week I was involved in three different discussions regarding one of the thorniest issues of Christian theolo ... More
Praying From the Footnotes - Matthew 6:13 - Oct 12, 2009 - 1225
“For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:13 Before we begin: Why does the Lord’s Prayer end with these words? What does this teach us about God? About our own limitations? About our need to pray? We come now to the final phrase in the Lord& ... More
Pressing Needs - Apr 17, 2005
Pressing Needs by Ray Pritchard A few days ago I ran across this quote from Martin Luther on how we should pray: We should pray by fixing our mind upon some pressing need, desiring it with all earnestness, and then exercise faith and confidence toward God in the matter, never doubting that we have b ... More
Press On! - Philippians 3:12-14 - Jan 5, 2012 - 1301
“In America, worry has become part of our national culture. You could write on countless American gravestones the epitaph: ‘Hurried, Worried, Buried.’" I first read those words by John Haggai 15 years ago, but they seem uniquely suited to our current Age of Anxiety. An articl ... More
Taking God Seriously - Matthew 6:9 - Oct 5, 2009 - 1218
“Hallowed be your name.” Matthew 6:9 Before we begin: What does the word “hallowed” mean? What does God’s name represent and why does it matter so much? It was late on Wednesday afternoon and my three sons and I had just arrived at a motel in Page, Arizona. Looki ... More
Kingdoms in Conflict - Matthew 6:10 - Oct 6, 2009 - 1219
“Your kingdom come.” Matthew 6:10Before we begin: What is the kingdom of God? In what sense is it a present reality? In what sense is it yet to come? How would things be different if you had a “God invasion” in your life? Your family? Your workplace? Your neighborhood? Someti ... More
Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else - Matthew 6:10 - Oct 7, 2009 - 1220
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10 Before we begin: Why is it difficult to sincerely pray “Your will be done?” How would your life change if doing God’s will became your first priority? Some prayers are harder to pray than others. I learned tha ... More
Daily Bread Living - Matthew 6:11 - Oct 8, 2009 - 1221
“Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 Before we begin: Name three things you pray about most often. Why does God want us to ask him to provide “daily” bread? With this petition we turn a corner in our journey through the Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions ... More
Lord’s Prayer People - Matthew 6:9-13 - Oct 13, 2009 - 1226
We come now to the end of our study of the Lord’s Prayer. My own walk with God has greatly benefited by pondering the deeper meaning of the Lord’s Prayer. As we wrap things up, let me repeat again that the Lord’s Prayer answers the question, “What does Christian prayer look l ... More
Singing Through the Lord’s Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13 - Oct 15, 2009 - 1227
Listed below are hymns, gospel songs and choruses that correspond to the various parts of the Lord’s Prayer. I have found it helpful to sing my way through the Lord’s Prayer using these songs to focus my thoughts. This list is meant to be suggestive, not comprehensive. As you use this gu ... 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
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
The Positive Power of Prayer - Daniel 9:1-23 - Feb 20, 2000 - 157
I suppose that most of us know the final words of James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” This oft-quoted promise reminds us that when righteous people call out to God, their prayers actually change things. But we tend to forget the first half of that verse ... More
Elijah and the Ravens - 1 Kings 17:2-7 - Mar 7, 2006 - 185
Until recently, everything I knew about ravens, I learned from Edgar Allen Poe. I don’t know when I first read his poem large black birds closely related to crows, the main difference being that ravens are bigger, with a wingspan that reaches 50 inches. They can be found from the arctic to the ... More
The Second Law: God Doesn't Need Us But We Desperately Need Him - Feb 17, 2002
Last Sunday we started a new sermon series called The Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life. In this series we are discovering the basic principles of the Christian life that meet us where we are and take us all the way to heaven. The First Law teaches us a fundamental truth: He’s God and We’ ... More
God Our Father - Matthew 6:9 - Oct 4, 2009 - 1217
“Our Father in Heaven.” Matthew 6:9 Before we begin: What words describe your earthly father? Do you feel comfortable addressing God as “Father?” Why or why not? “Who is God?” The interviewer looked at me expectantly while I fumbled to find an answer. Since the ca ... More
Forgiveness: Healing the Hurt We Never Deserved - Matthew 18:21-35 - May 4, 2003 - 757
This is the first sermon in a series I never planned to preach. The story of how it came to be starts in February when I spent a week preaching at Word of Life Florida. One day I ate lunch with George Theis, former executive director of Word of Life. He told me about a book called Total Forgiveness ... More
40 Amazing Days: The Original Founders Week - Acts 1:1-3 - Feb 1, 1998 - 628
If you are a regular listener to Moody radio, you know that the annual Founder’s Week Bible Conference begins tomorrow night. What you may not know is that this historic conference started in the 1890s when D.L. Moody asked that the students at the Institute be dismissed from class on his bir ... More
Here Am I … Send Aaron - Exodus 4 - Mar 27, 1994 - 805
Sometimes the mental pictures we have of certain Bible characters are all messed up. We get a particular image in our brain and it’s almost impossible to get it out. Take Moses, for instance. When I think of Moses, I think of Charleton Heston about to part the Red Sea. It’s Moses and ... More
Marriage Conference - Various - Jul 19, 1993 - 428
The Keys Of The Kingdom - Matthew 16:19 - Sep 10, 1989 - 328
It was the the most important game of the season. The score was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Andre Dawson reached first base with a walk. Up came Luis Salazar. He slams the ball into right field, way back into the ivy-covered walls of Wrigley Field. Meanwhile, Andre Dawson takes o ... More
God's Promise to You - Philippians 4:13-23 - Jan 10, 1999 - 361
With this sermon we come to the end of our series from the book of Philippians. I have mentioned several times that this book is essentially a thank-you note from the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi. He is writing to thank them for the gift they sent when they heard he was a prisoner in Rome. ... 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
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 w ... More
