Sermons found for the topic Holiness

Sleeping Together and Christ’s Global Cause

Why shouldn’t two adult Christians who happen to be divorced and have fallen in love—why shouldn’t they sleep together? That’s the question a man asked in an email. Here is my answer. More

Holy, Holy, Holy - Isaiah 6

Would you consider it a compliment if someone called you holy? The answer is, it depends on who that someone is. After all, the word holy is used in different ways by different people. If a person is considered excess More

In His Steps - I Peter 2:21-25

The Christian walk is synonymous with innocent suffering and pain, through which Christ our Lord suffered and died. He left us all an example of how to follow him in this. A Christian’s call to this behavior goes against the grain of his human tendencies: to suffer unjust treatment without retaliation, trusting only that God would be the judge of things ultimately. Jesus lived the sacrificial life to which he calls all his believers. It is a life that leads to the cross, and he has modeled how to live this sacrificial life for us. When we suffer unjustly, we share in a tiny portion of what happened to him. When we are mistreated, we are to turn the other check, bless those who curse us, and return good for evil. We are not to retaliate, not to threaten, not to get even. Jesus showed us how to live, and he showed us how to die. This response is a miracle in itself and is under girded and made possible only by the gift of grace from God. 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

Get Your Mind in Gear - I Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you More

Acts of the Apostates - Jude 1-25

I’d like to begin my message with a word we don’t often use. Though it has been around for many generations, this particular word unfamiliar to most of us. Few of us use it in ordinary conversationsand som More

You Gotta Serve Somebody - Romans 6:15-23

We'll call him Bill, but it doesn't matter. He's been a Christian for three or four or five years. Although he comes to church, he's not very faithful and he doesn't seem very interested in growing in his walk with Ch More

Life-Changing, Heart-Moving, World-Shaking Prayer - 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

"Prayer is not everything but everything is by prayer." So said Ray Ortlund. All Christians would agree with that statement. No matter what our background, instinctively we know that prayer is central to the Christ More

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

Lucky to Love - I Thessalonians 3:10-13

"Prayer is not everything but everything is by prayer." So said Ray Ortlund. All Christians would agree with that statement. No matter what our background, instinctively we know that prayer is central to the Christian More

Looking for a Second Chance: What About Purgatory and Postmortem Salvation? - Hebrews 1:3

Most people think that Catholics believe in purgatory and Protestants don't. That statement needs qualification in two ways. First, the various Orthodox churches also believe in purgatory, though we don't often hear a More

Good News for Poor Performers and Splendid Sinners - Luke 1:5-20, 57-64

This afternoon I read a bit from Faithfulness and Holiness by J. I. Packer. The book consists of Packer's short biography of J. C. Ryle, the 19t5h-century Anglican bishop, and a reprint of Ryle's justly-famous book ca More

REACHING PEOPLE WITH GOD'S LOVE - Various

Friday morning I did something I had not done since becoming pastor of this church. I took a few minutes and sat on the steps in front of the sanctuary. It was a typical March day in Chicago–clear and cool wit More

The Blessings of Obedience - Haggai 2:10-19

A few weeks ago someone sent me the following prayer, written by a man named Frank Morris. It’s from something called Frank’s Daily Chuckles. It’s one of those things that makes you laugh and then ma More

Singing Your Way to Victory - 2 Chronicles 20

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I g More

God's Altar Call - Romans 12:1

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).I must have been about eight or nin More

Changing Your Mind - Romans 12:2

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).We would all like to More

Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Serious Call to Sexual Purity

I received an email from a young lady I have never met. She happens to live in a country on the other side of the world. Because she reads my weblog, she felt like she could write and share her heart with me. This is More

Can I Lose My Salvation? - Philippians 1:6

I would like to begin with the observation that this is a controversial question in Christian circles. It would be difficult to find a subject about which believers are more deeply divided. To the question, "Can I los More

Where Grace and Wrath Meet: What the Cross Meant to God - Romans 3:24-26

Easter comes in just six weeks. In order to prepare our hearts we are going to take the five weeks leading up to Palm Sunday to focus on the cross of Christ. I do not intend to repeat the details of what happened on G More

Beyond Your Dreams - Ephesians 3:14-21

Pray boldly for spiritual strength, teaches Paul. God is faithful and we can trust Him. He is more than able to do even more than we ask.. Through prayer, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and grow spiritually, understanding the height, breadth, length and depth of Christ’s love for us. More

How God Destroys Human Pride - I Corinthians 1:26-31

What sort of people does God look for when he gets ready to populate heaven? If heaven has an admissions committee, what qualifications do committee members look for? That's not an idle question. We tell our young peo More

We Shall Be Like Him: The Purifying Hope of Christ's Return - I John 3:1-3

Shortly before his recent death, ex-Beatle George Harrison was asked about his spiritual journey. The question was apt since it was Harrison who introduced the Beatles to Eastern religion in the 60s and (after the gro More

The Second Law: God Doesn't Need Us But We Desperately Need Him

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 More

WMBI Easter Week Devotionals - Various

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God Has a Big Family—Part 2 "I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church" - Ephesians 4:1-6

"I believe in the holy catholic church." The Apostles' CreedLet's begin at the most basic point. What does the word "church" mean? In the New Testament the word "church" translates the Greek word ekklesia, which itsel More

Staying Pure in an X-Rated World - Various

(This particular sermon was a "tag team" effort where I preached the first part, and Pastor Bob Boerman preached the last part. I have added a conclusion beginning with the section called "Rise and Walk.")"The moment More

A FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR CALVARY MEMORIAL CHURCH - Various

First Draft: January 15, 1991(Version 2.30) Submitted by: Ray Pritchard, Brian Bill, Bill Miller, Bob Boerman, Terry Strandt More

How to Have Joy All Year Long - Philippians 4:1-9

As we come to the end of another year, once again we find ourselves in a world filled with problems, doubts, worries, and fears. We sing "Joy to the world," but there is not as much joy as we would like. Too many unha More

The Rod of God: When Love Says No - Hebrews 12:5-11; Proverbs 13:34

“Spare the rod and spoil the child.” It’s an old saying and like most things old, it has been neglected of late. But there is the ring of truth about it. If you spare the rod, you will indeed spoil your More

A Forgotten Doctrine: The Wrath of God - Romans 1:18-20

Sometimes the title tells the whole story. My sermon today is about the wrath of God. It is truly a forgotten doctrine, even in the evangelical church. I'll dare say that many of you have never heard a sermon on God's More

Sense and Nonsense About God's Love - 1 John 4:8

I'd like to begin my message with a simple observation. No attribute of God is so widely believed as the love of God. This observation is quite easily testable. Take a microphone to the streets of Chicago and ask them More

The Christian’s Supreme Boast - Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Tell them, Pastor Ray, tell them that nothing matters except Christ. The young people need to know this before it’s too late.” So said my friend Jim Johnsen on my first visit with him in the hospital a More

How We Know What We Know - I Corinthians 2:10-13

"But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows More

The Forsaken Christ - Matthew 27:45-46

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

The Holy Spirit and the Gift of Tongues - Article C: The Holy Spirit - Various

There are two problems a pastor faces whenever he comes to speak on a topic as controversial as speaking in tongues. The first is that the subject is so vast that he cannot hope to cover it completely. It would take More

What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel? - Romans 1:18-20

The subject for this morning is perhaps the most troubling question that Christians can face. The fate of those who never hear the gospel is both difficult and emotional. It's a tough question to think about because a More

Do You Know What Time It Is? - Romans 13:11-14

Christians, do you know what time it is? The Apostle Paul tells us it’s time to wake up, put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. In light of the return of Christ, and the lateness of the hour, how should we then live? More

Up with Worship!

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!" More

Trapped! - Jeremiah 29:1-4

What do you do when you don’t like the circumstances of your life and it seems as if those circumstances aren’t going to change anytime soon?When I asked that question to a group of friends, a man looked u More

Helping Through Prayer - II Corinthians 1:8-11

Prayer helped Paul when he was depressed and discouraged, giving him hope and encouragement through trust in God. Praying for others and the prayers of others for us glorify God, partnering with Him to help those in need and heightening joy as our prayers are answered. More

Led by the Spirit into the Wilderness - Luke 4:1-14

This is the second message in our new series on the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday we talked about John 3:8 and how the Holy Spirit is the wind—invisible, unpredictable, uncontrollable. He comes and goes as he wishes; More

Asymmetric Spiritual Warfare

Are you familiar with term asymmetric warfare? It's a concept that has received lots of news coverage in the recent years as a result of the war on terrorism. The word asymmetric refers to something that is out of bal More

God's Freedom - Romans 9:6-18

While studying Romans 9, I was struck by Paul's question in verse 14: "Is God unjust?" In our hearts we already know the answer. God is not unjust. But oftentimes he seems inconsistent. The very examples Paul chooses More

No Place for Pride - Romans 11:17-24

Tell them, Pastor Ray, tell them that nothing matters except Christ. The young people need to know this before it's too late." So said my friend Jim Johnsen on my visit with him in the hospital shortly before he died More

A Warning to Wine-Drinkers - Romans 14:13-23

Christian Liberty - You are free! Absolutely free. Christ has liberated you from the terrible burden of having to prove your worth by keeping a set of rules. You are free from the law, free from rule keeping, and free to make responsible choices. God has set you free so that you can please him with the choices you make. More

Our Awesome God - Romans 11:33-36

It's not often that a book title tells the whole story. Usually titles are chosen because they are catchy, not because they are informative. But occasionally you stumble on a title that both catches your attention and More

Swimming Upstream - Romans 12:2

There are times when we need to see a familiar verse in a new way. The ESV translates the first part of Romans 12:2 this way: "Do not be conformed to this world." Simple, clear and concise. But what exactly does Paul More

Why We Don't Have to Win Every Argument

For the last few weeks in our studies of Romans 14-15, we have been looking at the call of God for believers in Christ to live together in peace despite our differences over secondary issues. Just as a reminder, here More