Sermons found for the topic Failure

Deliver Us From Evil - Matthew 6:13

This petition reminds us of how weak we really are. We are sitting ducks for the flaming darts of the devil. Unless the Lord helps us, we will not only face temptation, we will succumb to it every single time. More

What Christ Does With Failure - John 21

John 21 is in the Bible so that all of us Peter-types would know that though we fall again and again, by God’s grace we can keep on getting back up. If he did it for Peter, he can do it for me and for you. More

Before the Rooster Crows - John 18:25-27

Peter’s fall proves that anyone can fall at any time so we should be warned. His restoration proves that God’s grace truly is greater than all our sin. Therefore, let sinners everywhere flee to Christ for forgiveness. More

Love Means Telling the Truth - 2 Corinthians 7:8-13

God intends for the church to become a body of committed, loving truth-tellers. Easy to say, hard to do. More

Press On! - Philippians 3:12-14

In the spiritual life, direction makes all the difference. True believers aren’t in heaven yet, but they aim their steps in that direction. More

Sleeping With the Enemy - Revelation 2:18-29

You can have the cheap thrills of the world and feel sick to your stomach the next morning. Or you can have Jesus now, a new life now, forgiveness now, real pleasure now, and you will one day rise to shine like the Morning Star. More

Church of the Living Dead - Revelation 3:1-6

The Sardis spirit overtakes us whenever we begin to take God’s gifts for granted. How quickly we can become the Church of the Living Dead and not even know it. More

How God’s Will Can Mess Up Your Life in a Good Way - Luke 5:1-11

God’s will is always good, but it’s not always comfortable. And it’s certainly not predictable. What if God blew your categories and gave you success beyond your wildest dreams? What if he let you fail miserably so he could give you overwhelming success later? More

How Much Sin Will God Forgive? - Psalm 51

If God forgave David, he will certainly forgive you. If a murdering adulterer could find grace, there is hope for you and me. More

Why God Prefers Losers - 2 Corinthians 4:7

God prefers losers who know their weakness, see their flaws, admit their mistakes, and cry out to him for help. More

Knocked Down But Not Knocked Out - 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

So what can we expect as Christians who live in this world? Well, we can say with Jimmy Stewart, it’s a wonderful life. But it’s not an easy life. More

The Year of Good Riddance - 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Maybe we should make 2010 a Year of Good Riddance in which we say farewell to anger, bitterness, blaming, finger pointing, self-justification and a critical spirit, and ask God to grant us a fresh infusion of his grace in all of our relationships. More

Living on a Spiritual Plateau–Part 1 - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Spiritual plateaus, like physical plateaus, are natural and normal and necessary. They are part of God’s “scenery” of the Christian life. More

How Good Christians Sometimes Do the Devil’s Work - Matthew 16:21-23

As it was for Peter, so it will be for all of us. Our strengths and our weaknesses lie side by side. If we live on the level of our emotions, we may find ourselves actually opposing Jesus. If we think that our understanding equals God’s will, we are bound to fall into many grievous errors. More

Midnight Miracle - Luke 22:49-51

When Jesus is betrayed and arrested, Peter impulsively strikes with his sword to try to protect Him. Jesus rebukes Peter, heals Malchus’ ear and quietly submits, knowing that in the end, God’s will must be done. What should Peter have done? How does a follower of Christ react when all is lost? More

Walk on Water, Pete! - Matthew 14:22-33

Christ calls us to find out what he is doing in the world, and then to fling ourselves wholeheartedly into his cause. Staying in the boat may be comfortable and safe, but that’s not what the life of faith is all about. More

If I Should Die Before I Wake - Hebrews 11:20-22

The stories of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph show us what faith looks like at the end of life. Here is one mark of genuine Christianity. When you come to the end of your earthly journey, you still hold on to what you believe. Because Jesus died and rose again, we can face our own death with confidence, knowing that the Lord will not abandon us when we need him most. More

Come Before Winter - 2 Timothy 4:21

Procrastination destroys many good intentions. Some things must be done “before winter” or they will not be done at all. There are doors of opportunity that open before us today, but if we do not take advantage of them, tomorrow they will be forever shut. More

Rock Bottom Truth - Jeremiah 29:11

When we find ourselves struggling with discouragement, we need to be reminded that God is thinking about us, and his thoughts toward us are good and not evil. When we hope in God, we can be happy even though we find ourselves in Babylon. More

Faithful to the Fallen - Luke 22:31-32

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32 This text gives us More

Faithful to the Defeated - Lamentations 3:22-23

The year was 1866, and in a log cabin in the little town of Franklin, Kentucky, Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born. Although he never went to high school or college, he became an elementary school teacher at age 16. Fiv More

Living in Hard Times - 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8

God has ordained that your trials are part of his plan to make you like Jesus. There are no short-cuts to spiritual maturity. More

Why God Allows Good Men to Fall - Luke 22:31-33

Peter still speaks to us today. “If you think you’ve fallen short, if you feel like you’ve denied him, look at what happened to me."� Do not despair. God still loves you, and He loves you so much that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. If God can forgive Peter, he can forgive anybody. More

Keep Walking

KEEP WALKING by Ray Pritchard You wouldn’t think of finding spiritual inspiration from a whiskey ad, but that’s what happened to me the other day. While leafing through the pages of a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, I came across an ad for Johnny Walker whiskey. The ad is actually a picture of a youngish man s… More

Before The Rooster Crows - John 18:25-27

There are some sounds that we do not hear very often. One of them is the sound of a rooster crowing. In Chicago, you can hear almost anything, but you would probably have to go to a zoo to hear a rooster crowing. W More

Sense and Nonsense about God's Guidance - Exodus 13:21-22; Psalm 48:14

In 1988 something new happened in the American political process. That year, for the first time in a long time, an avowedly evangelical candidate ran for the presidency of the United States.We all remember that Georg More

Some Sneered, Others Questioned, A Few Believed: Lessons on the Amazing Power of the Gospel - Acts 17:32-34

It is not often that a preacher has his sermon interrupted by the congregation. In the 29 years that I have been preaching, it has only happened to me a handful of times. Once in my first church in Downey, California More

The King Who Went Crazy - Daniel 4

God deals with Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. Application: The moment you start taking credit for anything, you’re just daring God to come and smack you around. God won’t share his glory with anyone and he won’t sit idly by while we attempt to shove him out of the picture. If we choose not to listen to God, he turns up the volume until he has our undivided attention. More

The Struggle - Romans 7:14-25

I would like to begin with three observations about this famous text. Observation number one is this: Romans 7 is a passage that grips us because we understand exactly what it is saying. We see ourselves in it. Wh More

Judge Not! - Matthew 7:1-5

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do More

The Comeback Kid: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Personal Failure - John 21

Have you ever done something or said something that disappointed someone you loved? I suppose all of us, if we were honest, would have to answer “yes” to that question. Perhaps we promised to be somewhere, More

Nothing Shall Offend Them: A Message for Unhappy, Irritated, and Bent-Out-of-Shape Christians - Psalm 119:165

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 Scri More

WMBI Easter Week Devotionals - Various

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Why God Chooses Splendid Sinners and Lovable Losers - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

When God chooses people for his family, he picks those the world considers losers. This means that imperfect people make excellent candidates for the grace of God. Since we are all imperfect, when we boast, let us boast only in the Lord. More

Why Good People Won't Go to Heaven - Romans 10:1-4

I’d like to talk to you about who goes to heaven. We all know that the Bible teaches the reality of heaven and the reality of hell. Jesus himself spoke of both places many times. All of us, I’m sure, wo More

Out of Egypt

Sometimes you’re reading along when suddenly a phrase pops out and you say, “Whoa! Where did that come from?” That happened to me this week as I was reading the Biblical Illustrator in preparation fo More

I Thirst - John 19:28-30

Part five of a sermon series “The seven last words of Christ” More

You Can Stumble But You Won't Fall - Psalm 37:23-24

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:23-24 NKJV).Since this is the fi More

Real Hope for Lasting Change - I Corinthians 6:9-11

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor t More

Have You Stopped Blaming Others For Your Problems? - John 5:1-9

You probably don’t recognize the name Bob Shannon unless you happen to be a student of Illinois high school football, in which case you know exactly who he is. Bob Shannon is the head football coach at East Sai More

Faithful to Finish His Work in You - Philippians 1:6

“The life of a Christian is a series of miracles.” So said Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great British preacher of the 19th century. If he is correct, why don’t we ever talk about those miracles? When a More

His Love Endures Forever - Psalm 136

When you have had all you can take, when the world seems to collapse around you, stand up, lift your head, and shout to the skies: His love endures forever! More

Does God Lead His Children Into Temptation? - Matthew 6:13

“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 hi More

Give Them Something to Eat - Mark 6:37

When we have nothing, God gives us so much that we have plenty to share with others. More

A Friend in High Places - Hebrews 4:14-16

We’ve got connections in heaven. We’ve got a friend at the throne of grace who delights to answer our prayers. Nothing you say will surprise him. Come boldly. Come often. Come to the throne of grace and pour out your heart to God. You will not be turned away. More

The Church Christ Prefers - Revelation 3:7-13

Jesus wants his churches to be motivated by love, founded on the truth, strong under pressure, and unashamed of his name. More

Anatomy of a Backslider - Genesis 20

One of the great proofs of the supernatural origin of the Bible it that it tells the truth about people. As you read the Bible, you will find that it discloses the whole range of human activity—including the da More

What You Seek, You Find - Jeremiah 29:12-14

God uses the hard experiences of life to bring us to the place where our trust will be in him alone. Through those hard times, we learn to seek him and to rejoice even when life doesn’t make sense. More

How to Help a Caveman - 1 Kings 19

We do live in strange times. Someone has called this the Age of Anxiety, and it seems appropriate enough. All week long I’ve been watching those “2005 Year in Review” specials. We have just finished More