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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Len Hoppe—A Friend Remembered

I can’t remember the first time I met him. I know it must have happened the first time I visited Calvary, months before I became the pastor, but the precise moment has passed from my memory. That little fact doe More

God's Simple Plan of Salvation - Romans 10:5-13

This is a very familiar passage of Scripture. Most of us know certain parts of it by heart. I have asked the Lord to do me a favor and not let me say anything new. I don’t want to say anything you haven’t More

Has God Lost the Battle? - Romans 11:1-10

In this sermon series we are looking at Romans 9-11, arguably the three most difficult chapters in the New Testament. I’ve called it “Understanding God’s Plan” because these chapters help us un 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. Not long ago I found this headline: “Most Think Country Headed in Wrong Direction.” Those words co More

Grumblers Anonymous - Matthew 20:1-16

This parable is not just teaching us about final rewards. It is also probing at the level of our motives. Why are we doing what we do? If it’s a straight reward you want, fine, you’ll get it. God will never cheat you. But that’s all you’ll get. And you’ll go to heaven grumbling all the way, always checking to see how you are doing compared with someone else - overestimating your own importance and underestimating the grace of God. But if you decide to do your work for the Lord’s sake alone, you will never be disappointed. More

What is a Christian? - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

A friend sent me an email telling about a question posed to her by a co-worker. Here is the exact text of the question:How is a Christian defined? It used to be that if you were not Jewish or Hindu or Buddhist, you we More

Inside the Wedding Ring - Romans 15:5-7

I was twenty-five years old and fresh out of seminary when I became the pastor of a small church in Downey, California. I stayed there almost five years and then moved to Garland, Texas to pastor another church for fi More

Four Cracked Pots - Hebrews 11:32

God honors faith, and he seeks it so much that he will honor people who otherwise do some very stupid things. He uses flawed people to accomplish his will so that when the victory comes, he alone gets the glory. More

Remarried—and Happy at Last! - Romans 7:1-6

In your marriage and in your Christian life, it’s not law but love that matters: The law says, “You must.” Love says, “I want to.” Before you come to Christ, you are on a continual performance standard, trying to do more in order to win God’s approval. But through Christ you discover that God loves you in spite of your failure. More

The Overcoming Series

THE OVERCOMING SERIES by Ray Pritchard Everyone has a story to tell, even the people who seem to smile all the time. This is one of the first things a young pastor learns when he graduates from seminary and begins his ministry. Some people look so well-adjusted and happy that you think they don’t have a care in the wor… More

The Chess Master

A recent article by Philip Yancey contains one of the best illustrations of the free will-predestination problem I have ever read. The “problem” simply stated is this: How can God be in charge of everything that happens and still give humans the power to make free moral choices? It’s easy for us to go to extr… More

The Positive Power of Prayer - Daniel 9:1-23

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 More

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

If you were raised in Chicago, you no doubt recognize the name of Mike Royko. For over 30 years he was the voice of Chicago to the nation. At the height of his career over 600 newspapers carried his columns. After he More