Sermons found for the topic John

A Question for Jesus - Matthew 11:3

If you could have any gift you wanted for Christmas, what would you ask for? That's not an easy question to answer if you start to think about it. Some of us would ask for things. A new car.A new house.A nice blouse.A 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

The Man Who Would Be King: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Frivolous Curiosity - Luke 23:1-12

This is the story of a man who had a chance but didn't take it and was never offered another one. The man's name is Herod Antipas. On Good Friday morning Jesus stood on trial before him. What happened on that fateful More

When Christians Disagree - Acts 16:36-41

Christians disagree about almost everything. And when we disagree, we usually start a new church. Which reminds me of a story I heard a few years ago. A Scottish Presbyterian is rescued after many years of living alon More

Balancing Truth and Love - 2 John

“Affiliation with the enemies of the Cross spells a lie to all claims to believe the truth."Robert Lightner This little letter contains one of the strongest warnings in the New Testament. If a false teacher More

A Tale of Three Men - 3 John

John’s third epistle has often called a “Tale of Three Men.” That is indeed an appropriate title for if you know these three men, you know what 2 John is all about. Verse 1 speaks of Gaius—the More

Who Is Jesus Christ? Article D: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ - Various

Tonight we are coming to the most critical doctrine in the Articles of Faith. Other doctrines are important as establishing foundational truth (the inerrancy of the Bible, the Trinity) or as explaining what we believ More

The Apostle Who Would Not Believe: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Broken Dreams - John 20:24-29

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned acts of God? That's a good question to ask on Easter Sunday. Most of us, I suppose, would immediately answer, "Yes, I believe in miracles 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

The Mother of Twins: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Misguided Ambition - Matthew 20:20-28

This is the story of a mother who wanted only the best for her twin boys. Because she loved them and was proud of them and because she had great dreams for them, she came to Jesus one day with an audacious request. Sh More

The Martyrs - Daniel 3:17-18

The word martyr has the sound of antiquity about it. It's a word that belongs to the days of Jesus and the apostles, and to the persecuted early Christians who were thrown to the lions in Rome. A few of us have read i More

All One Body We: "The Communion of Saints" - Hebrews 12:1

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebr More

How Will You Be Remembered? - II Timothy 2:1-13

How will you be remembered? It's a simple question that defies a simple answer. After you are dead and gone, after you've lived your 40 or 60 or 80 years, when your time on earth has come to an end, when you are here 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 Mystery of the Little Scroll - Revelation 10

An expanded outline of Revelation 10 with explanatory comments and application. More

Do You Have the Courage to be Happy? - Matthew 5:3-12

It started on a Friday night 17 years ago in Lansing, Michigan when a young sophomore came off the bench to lead Everett High School to victory. He scored 36 points, had 18 rebounds, 16 assists and 10 steals. It was 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

Liar, Lord or Lunatic: Why I Believe in Jesus Christ - Various

Several years ago someone wrote a book called The Many Faces of Jesus. It happened to be the book Elvis Presley was reading when he died in Memphis, Tennessee. That title stands as a fitting symbol of the confusion 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

The Woman Caught in the Act: Christ Speaks to the Problem of a Judgmental Spirit - John 8:1-11

"It is a terrible thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of his fellow sinners." F. B. MeyerThis is the story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery. It is so popular that even those who rarely read the Bible kno More

Prophet on the Run - 1 Kings 19:1-9

The Bible doesn't sugarcoat the truth about its heroes. It gives us the whole story, the good news and the bad news at the same time. When the Bible describes the great heroes of the Old Testament and the New Testamen More

God Unchanging - Romans 11:28-29

When I was a teenager in Alabama, I spent a week at a Methodist church camp. This was during the revolutionary days of the 60s when the talk was of LSD, the Beatles, hippies, the Vietnam War and protest in the street More

The Comeback Kid - Judges 16:23-31

As the morning light broke across the horizon, men began to stir all over the prison compound. In a corner cell, heavily guarded and barricaded behind an enormous iron door, another man heard the noises and woke with More

How to Overcome Disappointment - Haggai 2:1-9

On September 5, 1886, Charles Spurgeon began his sermon on our text with these incisive words: Satan is always doing his utmost to stay the work of God. He hindered these Jews from building the temple; and today he en More

Real Christian vs. Religious - John 3

This is the first sermon based on the questions submitted by the congregation last spring. I don't know who wrote this particular question but it's a good one. The very wording suggests that there is a fundamental dif More

When Christians Disagree - Acts 15:36-41

We Christians disagree a lot, sometimes about the craziest things. I don't know if you know it or not, but Christians have been disagreeing with each other since the very beginning. It goes all the way back to the d 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

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

The God We Hardly Know

David Mains caught me off guard with his question. "If you had to grade your congregation on their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, what grade would you give them?"Up until that moment, the interview had gone well. David More

Backstage at Bethlehem - John 1:10-13

It's amazing how simple some things really are. Take the Bible, for instance. At first glance, it's an intimidating book filled with strange names, places we've never heard of, books we can't pronounce, and verses we More

God's Scapegoat: "Buried" - Leviticus 16

"I believe in Jesus Christ ¼ who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried." The Apostles' CreedThis is a sermon based on a word that doesn't seem necessary. We know Jesus died. We know he ros 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 age but ther 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, but when th 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

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

Thirty Pieces Of Silver - Matthew 26:14-16

There are two things that perplex us about Judas. First, why did he do what he did? Second, after he had done it, why did he feel so guilty? He was so evil that he sold the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. More

When Did Christmas Begin? - John 1:14

Have you ever wondered when Christmas began? I'm not referring to the celebration of Jesus' birth on December 25 because we don't know exactly when he was born. It might be December 25 but it might be June 14 for all More

The Woman at the Well : Christ Speaks to the Problem of a Guilty Past - John 4:1-30

Two strangers met beside a well on a hot afternoon in Samaria. One was a woman. The other was a man. We don't know the woman's name. The man was Jesus. Their brief conversation changed her life.Today we are beginning More

A Friend in High Places: "He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty" - Various

This is one of the most remarkable statements in the Apostles' Creed and it is also one of the most neglected areas of Christian doctrine. Even though we (along with all Christians) believe in the ascension of Christ, 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 King Has Come! - Matthew 2:1-6

We begin with the words of Flannery O'Connor: "The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." Truth is truth whether we like it or not. The fact that I personally may object to the truth doesn't ma More

When Was Jesus Born?

Let me begin by saying right up front that no one knows exactly when Jesus was born because the Bible does not clearly answer this question. That doesn't mean the question is unimportant, only that it is not essential More

The Incorruptible Christ - Acts 2:24

The first word is sometimes as important as the last word.Seven weeks had passed since the resurrection of Jesus. For 40 amazing days, Jesus appeared to his disciples on many occasions and taught them concerning the K More

How to be a Godly Rebel - Romans 13:1-7

Winston Churchill once remarked that "democracy is the worst form of government until you consider the alternatives." How true. Democracy is messy and difficult and maddeningly slow because it depends on the will of More

Payday Someday: Why I Believe in Heaven and Hell - Various

This morning we come face to face with the most basic question of all: What happens when we die? For thousands of years men and women have pondered this question and offered differing answers. The materialist says More

Christ B.C. Part III: A Prophet Like Moses - Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Here's a Help Wanted ad you may find interesting:Spokesman needed for international firm. No experience necessary, no education required. Must between 20-85 years old. Full- or part-time. Exciting job with lots of More

What is Heaven Like? - Philippians 3:20-21

"Heaven is a place, just as much a place as is New York or Chicago." Charles Ferguson Ball I begin this sermon with two statements that I believe to be almost universally true: Everyone wants to know about heaven and More

The Wind Blows Wherever It Wills - John 3:8

This is the first in a six-part series on the Holy Spirit called Experiencing God Today. Two months ago I had no idea that I would be preaching on the Holy Spirit once we finished I Peter. But as I thought about the m More