Sermons found for the topic Faith

The Fifth Law: Active Faith Releases God's Power - Hebrews 11

Let’s begin by reviewing the first four laws of the spiritual life:Law 1: He’s God and We’re Not.Law 2: God Doesn’t Need Us But We Desperately Need Him.Law 3: What God Demands, He Supplies.Law More

By Faith - Hebrews 11:1-2

Faith is the law of the kingdom. It is “belief plus unbelief and acting on the belief part.” Every blessing of the kingdom is available to those who put their faith to work by “acting on the belief part,” moment by moment, day by day, one little step at a time. More

Should Our Teachers Be Required to Sign the Articles of Faith? - Various

Tonight we are beginning a brand-new series of Sunday night messages. As you know, I usually take books of the Bible on a chapter-by-chapter basis on Sunday night. This series is a major departure from that pattern. More

What Is Saving Faith?

"Pastor Ray, how can I know that I am truly saved?” The young man standing before me was obviously in some distress. His story was familiar. He had been raised in an evangelical church where he had accepted Chri More

What is Saving Faith? - Romans 10:9-10

The question posed by my title is not as easily answered as one might assume. It is evident from reading the New Testament that not everyone who “believes” truly possesses saving faith. Jesus himself warne More

It’s the Faith, Brother - Hebrews 11:3-7

There are those who have faith and those who don’t. And if you don’t have faith, you cannot please God. True faith, faith that rests on God and his Word and believes all that he has said, true faith sees the unseen and say, “Yes, it is true.” More

The Next Hero - Hebrews 11:39-40

Hebrews 11 is God’s “Perpetual Plaque” of those who lived by faith. And if you look closely, you can see there is plenty of room for more names. There’s room for you and there’s room for me. More

Miracles Come in Many Varieties - Hebrews 11:33-38

I cannot promise you an easy road if you decide to follow Jesus Christ. But I can promise you this. You will be blessed and you won’t be sorry. And in the end, you will discover that the life of faith is full of adventure, and you will be glad you weren’t a couch potato but dared to make a difference in the world. More

If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt? - Mark 9:24

This is a sermon about a topic we rarely discuss in church. This is a sermon about doubt. As such, it is an unfamiliar topic to most people, even though there are whole books of the Bible that deal with the issue of d More

The Blessing of a Believing Spouse - Hebrews 11:11-12

God may arrange things so that your faith bears vast fruit in the years to come. Your legacy will be most clearly seen after you have gone to heaven. Sarah never lived to see the world-changing impact of her faith in God, but we still remember her 4000 years later and honor her example. More

If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt?

This is a sermon about a topic we rarely discuss in church. This is a sermon about doubt. As such, it is an unfamiliar topic to most people, even though there are whole books of the Bible that deal with the issue of d More

Why Jericho Fell - Hebrews 11:30

Hebrews 11:30 says that “by faith” the walls of Jericho fell. But what kind of faith brings down the walls of impossibility? This message points out five characteristics of the faith God honors when we face long odds and the only way forward doesn’t seem to make any sense. More

Great Is Thy Faithfulness - Lamentations 3:22-25

How many people do you know who do exactly what they say? Before you answer, let me rephrase the question? How many do you know who do exactly what they say every single time? Now before you answer, let me rephrase it More

The Lord Who is Faithful - Deuteronomy 7:9

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 thinkin More

Level Three Faith and How to Get There - Hebrews 11:13-16

Every time a church enters a stewardship campaign, there is danger and there is also opportunity. The main danger is that the church will talk so much about money that people will begin to equate the whole of Christia More

How Faith Works - Luke 7:1-10

The life of faith is inherently a life of risk. It is not for those timid souls who want to play it safe all the time. As long as we limit God to what we think he can do, we will never see anything great because our faith remains so small. But once we are willing to suspend our disbelief and renounce our skepticism, then and only then do we become candidates for a miracle. More

What is Saving Faith?

The question, “What is saving faith?” is not as easily answered as one might assume. It is evident from reading the New Testament that not everyone who “believes” truly possesses saving faith. 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

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

God Must Be Praised in Fiery Trials - 1 Peter 1:6-7

On April 5, 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo for his resistance to the Nazi regime in Germany. For several years he had spoken out against the Nazis, and eventually it caught up wit 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

At Home with the Lord: What is the Christian View of Death? - Hebrews 11:20-22

One of the first prayers I learned to pray was my bedtime prayer. I do not remember how old I was when I first learned it but I know I was just a young boy. Over the years it has helped millions of children get ready More

The Incredible Journey - Hebrews 11:8-10

Our focus in this message is on the man we often call “Father Abraham.” Hebrews 11:8-10 tells how he obeyed God’s call at great personal sacrifice. It tells us what he did; more importantly, it tells us why he did it. And it clearly shows us that obeying God doesn’t always work out the way we think it will. More

How to Kill a Giant - 1 Samuel 17

If you are in the will of God, the giants who fight you are actually fighting God. That’s why God sends giants in our path on a regular basis: First, to see if we will run or fight. Second, to allow us an opportunity to honor our God. More

The Father of a Dying Son - John 4:46-54

This is the story of a man whose son was dying. We do not know the precise nature of the son’s illness except that he had a high fever and was near the point of death. We do not know the son’s name or his More

Song of a Slipping Saint - Psalm 73

“When we put our coming glory on the scales of eternity, the passing prosperity of the wicked amounts to nothing at all.” More

Are We All Hindus Now? - Exodus 20:1

Christians must reassert the supernatural basis of the Christian faith. We must not stutter where God has spoken clearly. And we must make clear the utterly exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. 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

Who Sinned? - John 9

It doesn’t take deep faith or total understanding in order to be transformed. All it takes is faith that believes the words of Jesus even when you aren’t sure of anything else. More

Forever and Ever, Amen! - Matthew 19:6

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 More

Did I Make a Mistake? - Romans 8:28; Hebrews 11:8

Life is short for all of us, and if any of us had a chance to do it over again, we would probably make some decisions differently. But if we believe in God and his sovereignty, at some point we have to move on. 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

You Are What You Believe: Why the Apostles’ Creed Matters - Romans 1:16

This sermon gives the history of how the Apostles’ Creed came about and explains the importance it has in the Christian church throughout history as well as in our individual lives. The Apostles’ Creed is a declaration of faith recognized by all branches of true Christianity. For 2,000 years the Apostles’ Creed has served as a succinct statement of the irreducible minimum of the Christian faith. It is the common heritage of the true Christian church. It offers a broad survey of Christian doctrine, that focuses all on God as the object of the faith, and what he has done for believers. In this declaration of beliefs, the God of the Christian church is sharply distinguished from the gods of other religions by what he has done for his believers. The authority of these statements of belief embodied in the Apostles’ Creed lies entirely on the Word, that is the Bible, and not on any personal or private interpretations. It follows then that a person who professes to be a Christian must therefore subscribe or believe in everything stated in this creed, at the very least, as a start of what the Christian must believe. The Creed reminds us that truth is not optional. There are boundaries to the Christian faith. Not everything is negotiable. Some things must be believed if you are to call yourself a Christian. You can choose to live outside those boundaries, but if you do, you aren’t a Christian and you shouldn’t call yourself one. More

What Is Your Isaac? - Hebrews 11:17-19

From the story of Abraham offering Isaac, we learn that God calls us to yield our dearest treasures to him. Anything good can become an idol when it becomes too important to us. What is your Isaac? Are you willing to lay it down for Jesus’ sake? More

Praying for the Sick–Part 2 - James 5:14-16

Through prayer we have the privilege of lifting the burden from our brothers and sisters. Through prayer we may become agents of healing to those who are sick. What an honor to be used of God in this way. When we pray for the sick, we are doing the work of Jesus in the world. More

Making a Marathon Marriage - Malachi 2:10-16

Getting married today is like flying an airline where you know that 50% of the planes that take-off will crash. The odds are stacked against marathon marriages today but God never intended couples to experience marital meltdown. If you’re married, or planning to get married, God wants you to have a marriage that lasts forever. More

Peace, Be Still! A Short Sermon from the Sea of Galilee - Mark 4:35-41

Lord, don’t you care - that my child is sick, my marriage is falling apart, I have no money, I feel so alone? All of us have moments when life tumbles in around us, when we feel utterly alone and forgotten by God. In those moments we have a choice to make. More

The Oldest Dad in the Nursery - Romans 4:18-25

Let’s start off with a bit of historic trivia. Who is oldest mother in history? I’m going to give you four choices:Ellen Ellis Ruth Alice Kistler Murphy Brown None of the Above According to the Guinness Bo More

Nitty-Gritty Faith - Hebrews 11

It is a pleasure to salute our young people today. They are the future of this church. And it is a pleasure to have our teenagers share in the morning service. In case you didn’t know, Bruce Smith made the ann More

The Final Difference Between the Church and the World - Hebrews 11:29

At the Red Sea, the Hebrews were delivered while the Egyptians were destroyed. From this we learn that the church and the world have two different destinations. This is the final difference between them. More

Why We Keep Believing - Hebrews 11:13-16

Because Christians are aliens and strangers on earth, we are destined to live and die feeling slightly (and maybe more than slightly) out of place. But we will not quit, give up or go back because our home is in heaven. We have expectations of something much better than anything the world has to offer. More

How Do You Measure Success? - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

God measures our success in terms of lives changed. He’s evidently not that impressed by the size of our budget or by the stained glass in our sanctuary. The One who hung the stars in space doesn’t really care how many books we’ve written or how much money we make or whether or not we see our name in lights. More

Shall We Kill Our Children Today? - Hebrews 11:23

The amazing faith of Moses’ parents shows us the high value that God puts on children, including those children that are born in less than ideal circumstances. Christians love children because God loves children. Ours is true pro-family religion. More

Praying for the Sick–Part 1 - James 5:14-15

If we pray at all, sooner or later we will spend time paying for the sick. Our prayers matter to him. Our prayers matter to the sick. When we pray for the sick, we are bringing God’s mercy into the hospital room and inviting the Great Physician to take up the case. More

Lord, Please Change Me! - Romans 12:2

Knowledge alone will not save us and knowledge alone will certainly not change us. You’ve got to do something with the knowledge you have. More

What is the Difference Between a Real Christian and a Religious Person? - John 3

Being religious is not the same as being a real Christian. Jesus said even the best among us must be born again. A religious person has religion; a Christian has been born again through personal faith in Jesus Christ. It’s as simple as that. Religion is good but Jesus is better. More

Kingdoms in Conflict - Matthew 6:10

“Your kingdom come” is not a passive prayer. If you ever decide to make the kingdom of God the first priority in your life, you may not become a missionary, but you will become fundamentally different from the world around you. More

Praying From the Footnotes - Matthew 6:13

When we pray, we are to begin by asking that God’s name be hallowed and we are to end by praising God for his sovereign rule over the affairs of men. Thus the Lord’s Prayer begins with God and ends with God. 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

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