Sermons found for the topic Persecution

Wanted: Bold Believers! - Colossians 4:2-4

Learning how to pray effectively is essential for spiritual growth. Based on the prayers of Paul, we can learn to pray boldly for the commitment of those on the front lines of spiritual conflict, for open doors of opportunity for evangelism, for courage despite difficult circumstances and persecution, and for clarity in presentation of the Gospel – especially encouraging pastors. More

Joy in the Trenches - Philippians 1:27-30

Dr. Ray Pritchard issues a stirring call to live worthy of the gospel. We can make an impact for Christ in our world if we will stand without division, strive without compromise, speak without fear, and sacrifice without shame. 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

The Church in Many Places - Acts 8:1-4

God uses catastrophe and disasters to scatter the church so that His word can be spread to all parts of the world. We can become comfortable and content in our lives, but God in His sovergn nature does things we are not used to. More

A Place to Pray - Acts 4:23-31

"If you do not know that life is war, you will not know what prayer is for." John PiperThe sun had almost slipped beneath the horizon in the little village of Pucuro in the Darien region of Panama, not far from t 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

Great Joy in the City - Acts 8:4-8

"Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all pai 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

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

Countdown to Armageddon: Six Signs of the Second Coming - Matthew 24:1-14

Last Wednesday afternoon I stood at Ground Zero in Manhattan looking at the ruins of the World Trade Center. I was there as part of a group of five men from Calvary who traveled 2,400 miles through 11 states plus the More

More Than Conquerors - Romans 8:31-37

If you've ever done any mountain climbing, you know that as you near the summit, you will often reach a peak that is not the ultimate peak. It's a lower peak that you have to traverse to get up to the very top of the More

Keep Your Eye on the Donut and Not on the Hole - Philippians 1:12-18

In the 20 years I have been a pastor, a good portion of my time each week has been spent talking with people going through hard times. I suppose it just comes with the territory. When things go well, the pastor rarely More

Goats 1, Rams 0 - Daniel 8

Before we jump into this chapter, several observations are in order. First, Daniel 8 on the surface appears to be dry as dust history in that it tells a story about a vision that was fulfilled in history over 2000 yea More

A Tale of Two Women: Are You a Child of Promise? - Galatians 4:21-31

Almost all the commentators agree that this is the hardest passage in the book of Galatians. It's not easy to understand on a quick reading exactly what Paul means to say. Or perhaps more accurately, we know in genera More

Never Be Surprised by Hard Times - I Peter 4:12-19

I begin with the words of British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, from an interview with William F. Buckley: "As an old man, looking back on one's life, it's one of the things that strikes you most forcibly—that 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

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

How Your Life Can Change Those Around You - I Peter 2:11-12

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may 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

A Peek into God's Calendar - Daniel 9:24-27

My text has long been considered the most important passage in the book of Daniel. For 2000 years Christians have debated its true meaning. It is the key to prophetic interpretation and the backbone of biblical prophe More

Renewing Your Passion - II Timothy 1

Today we are beginning a summer series from the little book of II Timothy. People sometimes wonder how pastors choose what to preach on. In this case, I feel like I didn't choose II Timothy; II Timothy chose me. Last More

Strangers in a Strange Land - I Peter 1:1-2

Today we are beginning a journey through I Peter. I encourage you to crease your Bible open to this little book because we're going to be here for several months. We're going to go through this epistle verse-by-verse More

The Easter Conspiracy - Matthew 28:11-15

"The resurrection of Christ is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records." Philip SchaffIt's been a good week for Jesus if you count cover stories as good news. For the first time in m More

Why Are We Here? The First Question of the Catechism - Jeremiah 24:7; John 17:3; Ephesians 1:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8

As this is the first Sunday of a new year, it is an appropriate moment to begin a new sermon series. Beginning today, and continuing into May, we will be considering the attributes of God in a series called "Our Aweso 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

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

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

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

"They Gave Themselves First to the Lord" Why Giving Begins with the Heart, Not the Pocketbook - II Corinthians 8:1-5

Last night some Moody students came over to our house for some pizza and to watch a football game. One of them asked what I planned to preach on today. When I told him, he said, "Too bad." Then, "Too bad you have to p More

Anchor Books for China

ANCHOR BOOKS FOR CHINA by Ray Pritchard During our trip to China in January, God arranged the circumstances so that we met a man who has a license to legally publish Christian books in China. That in itself is unusual since China is still officially atheistic. But things are changing and long-closed doors are now opening. A… More

A Line in the Sand

A LINE IN THE SAND by Ray Pritchard Last week Skip Olson sent me an e-mail wondering why professing Christians could not stand arm-in-arm over issues of great moral importance. In many ways the disunity within Christendom opens the door for evil to flourish in our society. But perhaps the critical nature of these times will… More

St. Ephaem's Prayer

ST. EPHAEM’S PRAYER by Ray Pritchard Most of us, I suppose, have never heard of St. Ephraem of Syria. Or perhaps I shouldn’t suppose that. The only thing I know for certain is that I had never heard of him before this week. While attending a pastors’ luncheon last Tuesday, Wilbur Ellsworth shared a prayer by … More

Take Me to Your Leaders - I Peter 5:1-4

In early March I preached on "Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ?" from I Peter 3:13-17. After the final service that morning, a first-time visitor came up and thanked me for my sermon. In the course of the convers More

A Survival Kit for Tough Times - I Peter 5

We come this morning to the end of our series on I Peter. This is the 24th and final message. We started on the last Sunday of July and we end on Mother's Day. It was summer when we started and we end with summer not More

Grow Up! - 1 Corinthians 13:7

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you weren't married? If somehow you were suddenly single again? No matter how happy your marriage is, every honest person would have to answer yes to those questions 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 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

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

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

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

Trouble in the Church! - Romans 16:17-20

Greet one another with a holy kiss … but don't go kissing everyone.That will serve as a useful summary of our text. Sometimes it's not what you say but when you say it that matters. Paul writes these stern word 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 Man Who Killed Jesus: "Suffered Under Pontius Pilate" - Isaiah 53

This has been a week unlike any other in my lifetime. Last Wednesday the new movie by Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ," premiered around the country. For various reasons the film has stirred up enormous controv 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

Overcoming Insecurity - Matthew 10:29-31

I am actually writing these words a few days after I preached this sermon on Sunday morning. The current headlines tell a grim story: "North Korea Admits Nuke Program" "No Suspect Sketch in Sniper Case" "Bush Signs I More

Overcoming Discontentment - I Corinthians 7:17-35

Ever since the beginning of creation, when the first creatures came from the hand of God, there has always been someone, somewhere, unhappy with his position in the universe. It all started with an angel named Lucifer More

Overcoming Fear of the Future - Esther 4:12-16

Current headlines tell a chilling story:"Americans Revel Under Watchful Eyes""Riots Erupt in Bahrain""The High Cost of Peace""Thousands of Troops Head for Gulf""Terrorism on the High Seas""Kuwait Prepares for War""Pre More

God Must Be Praised in Fiery Trials - I 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

Living in the Fear of God - I Peter 1:17-21

After a six-week break, we are returning to our study of I Peter. I want to begin by reminding you that Peter wrote this letter to believers scattered across ancient Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Widely separated an More

In His Steps - I Peter 2:21-25

In the Christian life, there are only two ways to grow. One is through people, the other is through pain. It would be hard to find a more important principle than this. Sometimes we grow through the influence of other More