Sermons found for the topic Islam & Christianity

Does Israel Have a Future? - Romans 11:25-26

This sermon argues that the term “Israel” in Romans 11 always refers to ethnic Israel and that Paul foresees a day when Israel as a nation will come to Christ for salvation. Events in the Middle East remind us that Jesus Christ may come back sooner than we think. More

Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven? - John 14:6

In preparing this message, I faced several important challenges:First, many of us already know the answer to this question. We've thought it, we've discussed it with others, and we know what we believe. Second, we kno More

Christians and Muslims — What's the Difference?

CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? by Ray Pritchard Last Tuesday night I spent an exciting hour with our Power Connection junior high ministry. They invited me for the annual “Stump Pastor Ray” question night. Because they gave me the questions in advance, I was better prepared than usual, but … More

The Preacher and the Muslim Leaders

THE PREACHER AND THE MUSLIM LEADERS by Ray Pritchard Last week a noted television preacher came to Chicago for an interfaith meeting with several African-American Muslim leaders. I have chosen not to mention his name because I don’t wish to make this a personal issue and also because I am quoting from a Chicago Tribune… More

Do Christians and Muslims Pray to the Same God?

DO CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS PRAY TO THE SAME GOD? by Ray Pritchard Many times in the last few months we have heard it said that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. We pray to Jesus, Muslims pray to Allah. It’s all the same, or so we are told. I heard about a deacon who prayed, “Lord, Yahweh, Allah, or by wh… More

The Incomparable Christ: "Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord" - Philippians 2:9-11

Who is Jesus Christ? Of all the questions that might be posed to modern men and women, none is more important than this. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the central question of history and the most important More

The Greatest Risk You'll Ever Take: "I Believe in God" - Hebrews 11:6

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).The Bible declares God's existence. It do More

Why Are You Weeping? - John 20:11-18

The story of Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus at the empty tomb is found only in John's gospel. I think Mary must have told John about it personally. Everything about this little slice of life rings true to human nature a More

You Will Be My Witnesses: God's Job Description for Every Christian - Acts 1:8

I first heard the question 27 years ago from my friend, Ben Wilkinson, a Presbyterian evangelist. He came to the First Presbyterian Church of Russellville, Alabama for a week of evangelistic meetings. During the morni 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

"We Did Not Give in to Them:" Why Unity Must be Based on Truth - Galatians 2:1-10

I want to begin by calling your attention to the most important verse in our passage—verse 5, which reads, "We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." If you More

Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ? - I Peter 3:13-17

Are you prepared to suffer for Christ? For most of us, the answer is no. For most of the Christians in the world, the answer is yes. “Christianity was born in a world of totalitarianism … it was not stran More

The Third Law: What God Demands, He Supplies

In this sermon series we're looking at the basic laws of the spiritual life that apply to all Christians everywhere. These are the principles that every Christian needs to know because they meet you right where you ar 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 understand the flow of eve 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

The Fool on the Hill: What the Cross Means to the World - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Every religion and every ideology has its own symbol. For the Buddhist it is the lotus flower. Judaism has the Star of David and Islam the crescent. In this century the communists were known for the hammer and the sic More

The Life God Blesses - II Timothy 2:14-26

Almost five years ago we started sending free copies of my books to prisoners across America. Through a partnership with Prison Fellowship, we have distributed tens of thousands of copies of Keep Believing, What a Chr More

The Day God Died: "Crucified, Died" - Hebrews 9-10

The Apostles' Creed contains four phrases that refer to the death of Jesus Christ:Crucified,Died,Buried,Descended into Hell.If you think about it, this seems redundant, especially in a Creed where the entire Christian More

Hanging Tough for Jesus - II Thessalonians 1:11-12

I would like to call your attention to verses 4-5 as we begin: "Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that More

Born Free: Seven Promises You Can Count On - Galatians 3:15-4:11

The book of Galatians is all about how we can be right with God. Paul wrote this little "emergency letter" to remind us that being right with God is about believing, not achieving. Salvation is not about going to chur More

Up with Worship!

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

Who Do Men Say That I Am? - Matthew 16:13-17

If you ever travel to the Holy Land, one of the places you may visit is an Arab town called Banias. To get there you will have to travel north from Jerusalem to some place like Tiberius or Capernaum and from there tra 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, would like to 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

Lessons for Modern-Day Sowers of the Word - Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

The last few days I have been meditating on the famous parable of the seed and the sower. It is obviously important because is found in three different places in the gospels (with Jesus' explanation in parenthesis):Ma More

Portrait of a Godly Pastor - Romans 15:14-21

In 1978 Michael Hart wrote a book called "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in History." In it he ranked the most important people in the history of the world, taking into account the people they influ More

Sola Fide: By Faith Alone - Romans 3:27-31

This is the final message in the series on the four solas of the Reformation. I have saved sola fide-by faith alone-for the last because it is the logical climax of all we have said so far. If sola scriptura is the "m More

The Persecuted Church—Who Cares?

THE PERSECUTED CHURCH–WHO CARES? by Ray Pritchard Headline: “Fallout From Iraq War: Christians Targeted for Persecution” I wonder how the Bears will do against Detroit today? They’ve won two in a row. I know they’re not very good, but they ought to beat the Lions. A three-game winning streak would be a… More

Is Evangelism a Hate Crime?

IS EVANGELISM A HATE CRIME? by Ray Pritchard A recent editorial in Christianity Today raises a question that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable. Is sharing Christ with others a “hate crime” that deserves punishment? In the changing religious landscape in America and around the world, the answer from … More

The Foolishness of God - I Corinthians 1:18-25

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intellig More

Preach the Word! - II Timothy 4:1-5

I'd like to begin by calling your attention to verses 3-4 of this passage. They describe a scene that seems amazingly contemporary: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to sui More

We Can't Be Friends with Everyone

WE CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE by Ray Pritchard The following question arrived a few days ago: “When it's all said and done, is it impossible for Christians to form close, intimate (platonic) relationships with non-Christians? As I grow closer in my walk with God, I realize how little I have in common with the … 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 More

Back to Basics - John 7:16-17

Each year at Calvary we choose a theme and a theme verse that serve as our ministry focus. We started doing that in 1991 and have continued every year since then. Sometimes we don't know until October or November what More

Two Ways to Go to Heaven: Make Sure You Choose the Right One - Galatians 3:1-14

With this sermon we turn a corner in our journey through Galatians. This short letter has three parts:The Personal Section: Chapters 1-2The Doctrinal Section: Chapters 3-4The Practical Section: Chapters 5-6As we begin More

The Wages of Sin: Why Nothing Works Right - Genesis 3:7-19

Three hundred seventy-nine days ago, Martin and Gracia Burnham were captured by Muslim terrorists in the Southern Philippines. They were staying at the Dos Palmas resort off the island of Palawan when members of the A More

Overcoming Lingering Bitterness - Genesis 45

On Thursday morning, November 21, as the sun was peeking over the horizon in the port city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, Bonnie Penner Witherall was up early. On this day she was going to work at the prenatal clinic t More

Overcoming Loneliness - Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:22-23

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14)."All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through th More

The Up and Coming Christ: "He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead" - John 14:1-3; II Peter 3:3-10

You never know where you will find spiritual truth. A few days ago I received a letter from Mary Jo Lynch. Thirty-five years ago, she lived with her husband Dudley in my hometown of Russellville, Alabama. Dudley Lynch More

Should We Pray for the Jews to be Saved?

A few months ago the Southern Baptist Convention published a prayer guide urging Christians to pray for the followers of other religions to come to personal saving faith in Jesus Christ. The suggested guidelines included praying for your Jewish friends and acquaintances during the Jewish Holy Days (especially Yom Kippur, th… 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

The Rising of the Rejected Stone - Acts 4:8-12 & 1 Peter 2:4

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12Easter has come once again but not everyone is smiling. This is the paradox of Easter̵ More

Ready to Give an Answer - I Peter 3:15

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord; always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have" (I Peter 3:15). Peter says to be ready to give an answer. Are you rea More

Did Mickey Mantle Go to Heaven? Why I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sin - Various

Like many others of my generation, Mickey Mantle was a household when I grew up. Back then, in the late fifties and early sixties, he was one of the most famous sports figures in America. Schoolboys by the millions More

Beyond the Crystal Ball: Why I Believe in the Second Coming of Christ - Various

Consider the events of the last few weeks: *In Washington, the government shut-down has entered its sixteenth day, with no end in sight. While politicians argue where to place the blame, hundreds of thousands of worke More

The Blessing No One Wants - Matthew 5:10-12

It's going to be a long time because they invite Pastor Joe Wright of Wichita's Central Christian Church to deliver the invocation again to the Kansas State Legislature. When he prayed there not long ago, in the word More

Donahue and Jesus

DONAHUE AND JESUS by Ray Pritchard On MSNBC last Tuesday night, Phil Donahue hosted a raucous discussion on the topic: “Is the highway to heaven only open to the Christians? Some say only faith in Jesus will earn you a place beyond the pearly gates. So what about Jews, Muslims, and followers of other faiths?” The … More

The Mysterious Doctrine of the Trinity - Acticle B: The True God - Various

My introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity came at a very young age. I first learned it through the music we sang at the First Baptist Church. The great hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" was number one in the Baptist Hymn More

Perilous Times - II Timothy 3

You've probably heard the old joke about the fellow who was told, "Cheer up. Things could be worse." So he said, "I did as I was told. I cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse." That in a nutshell is the messag More