Sermons found for the topic Pilate

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

A Man Called Pilate - Mark 15:1-15

Here is yet another man we'd all like to meet. His is the story of a man caught in a terrible dilemma. No matter how many times we read his story, it is still not fully clear what he really thought and how he really More

Be Still and Know - Psalm 46:10

Why did the deadly cyclone hit Myanmar and the earthquake devastate the Sichuan Province in China? Our first response to questions like that is critical. Psalm 46:10 teaches us to be silent, and in our silence we will know God in the midst of great tragedy. More

The Truth about the Passion Movie

To me the most satisfying part of the movie has nothing to do with violence. It comes when Jesus, already badly beaten, stands before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. As the curious, uncertain Pilate begin 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 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

Further Thoughts on "The Passion of the Christ"

Here are some answers to questions raised by the movie: More

How God Uses Bad People to Do His Will: Another Look at God's Providence - Acts 1:15-26

Two questions confront us as we consider the story of Judas: 1. Why did he do it? 2. Why did God allow it?Last week's sermon dealt with the first question. We concluded that the Bible doesn't give us a final answer r More

What the World Doesn't Know - I Corinthians 2:6-9

"We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden a More

Forgiving the Unforgivable

The man called me on the phone and said, "Pastor Ray, could I come see you?" Then he told me his story. "My wife left me for another man and when she got tired of him, she decided to come back to me. Everything seem 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

Babbling for Jesus: Speaking Truth to Highly Intelligent People - Acts 17:18-21

I'd like to begin by telling you about a new mission statement that has just been approved by the elders of the church. Several months ago the pastoral staff and the elders began working together to write a new missio More

Caiaphas: Close But Not Close Enough

Thursday, April 5, AD 33. 5:45 AM The sun pushes its way over the Eastern horizon as the great city wakes up. Merchants roll off their hard mattresses, animals begin to stir in their stalls, here and there a stray dog More

Father, Forgive Them

Here is part of an email from a friend:Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of bitterness? What do you do when you are dealing with a situation where you cannot go to the person and discuss the issue with them? 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

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

From Jacob to Jesus - Genesis 49:10; Luke 1:33

Our final study in the life of Jacob is different from all the rest. When we began, he was still in his mother's womb. When Genesis brings his story to a close, he is buried in the cave of Machpelah, along with his 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

Christ B.C. Part I: Seed of the Woman - Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."This is the first promise given after the Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fr 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

What Happened to Judas? The Man Who Kissed the Door of Heaven But Went to Hell - Acts 1:15-26

"Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." Mark 14:21b"If you are not born again, the day will come when you will wish you had never been born at all." Warren Wie 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

Written in the Heart

WRITTEN IN THE HEART by Ray Pritchard No statement is regarded as more elementary to the student of the Bible than the statement that a day of judgment is coming for the human race. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment.” That statement, as elementary as it might seem, is … More

Be Still and Know - Psalm 46:10

Why did the deadly cyclone hit Myanmar and the earthquake devastate the Sichuan Province in China? Our first response to questions like that is critical. Psalm 46:10 teaches us to be silent, and in our silence we will know God in the midst of great tragedy. 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

Good News From the Graveyard - Luke 24:1-3

Thursday afternoon I took a walk through Forest Home Cemetery. It's an old cemetery nestled between the Eisenhower Freeway and Roosevelt Road. When I arrived, the place was almost deserted. I drove down one of the More

Truth or Consequences - Exodus 20:16

When I was growing up my mother had a little rhyme she often repeated to her four sons. You probably heard it many times while you were growing up: Sticks and stones may break my bones But words will never hurt m More

Midnight Miracle - Luke 22:49-51

When Jesus is betrayed and arrested, Peter impulsively strikes with his sword to try to protect Him. Jesus rebukes Peter, heals Malchus’ ear and quietly submits, knowing that in the end, God’s will must be done. What should Peter have done? How does a follower of Christ react when all is lost? More

Letter From a Friend - Romans 15

To understand forgiveness, consider Jesus on the cross. In his dying moments He uttered words that still ring across the centuries: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even as he said those words, the crowd laughed, mocked, cheered, jeered. They taunted him. When he died, the people who put him to death were quite pleased with themselves. No one seemed very sorry. No one said, “I was wrong. This is a mistake.” And yet he said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” That is precisely what we must say if we are going to follow Jesus. More

The Hardest Prayer You Will Ever Pray - Matthew 6:10

Some prayers are harder to pray than others. I learned that thirty-three years ago when my father died. One October day he felt a pain in his shoulder. The doctors later said it was transferred pain from a bacterial i More

Easter Questions - Luke 24:1-12

Can a person who calls himself a Christian ever doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ? This morning I am going to argue that the answer to that question is Yes!It may sound odd to say that to a group like this on Ea 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

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 aa 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

The Cradle And The Cross: Simeon's Song - Luke 2:25-35

It's a good question, isn't it? If Jesus were born today, would it be any different than it was 2,000 years ago? We like to think the answer is yes, that we would be ready, that we wouldn't make the mistake of turni More

Martin Luther's Highway to Heaven - Romans 1:16-17

It is a mark of our changing times that many people have only a vague idea who Martin Luther is. Most of us have heard his name but we're not sure where he's from or what he did or when he lived. Some of us even get More

CAIAPHAS - Various

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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

Forgiveness: Healing the Hurt We Never Deserved - Matthew 18:21-35

This is the first sermon in a series I never planned to preach. The story of how it came to be starts in February when I spent a week preaching at Word of Life Florida. One day I ate lunch with George Theis, former ex More

Always Springtime in Heaven: I Believe in Life Everlasting - II Corinthians 5:8

This is the final message in the series on the Apostles' Creed. When we started in January, there was snow on the ground. We end on a hot summer Sunday in July. Our church theme this year is "Back to Basics," and our More

Many Infallible Proofs: How We Know Christ Lives Today - Acts. 1:3

"Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ the Christian faith would have been stillborn, for a living faith cannot survive a dead Savior." Peter LewisThe time: 6:00 a.m. The place: A garden tomb. The date: Su More

Acorns to Oak Trees: How Are the Dead Raised? - 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

No question is more fundamental to the human race than this: What happens when we die? Since death comes to all of us sooner or later, we are all forced to face this question and to come up with some kind of answer. T More

I'm Not Touching Your Stinkin' Feet - Various

I have been thinking this week about what a servant is and does. I sat down and started making a list of great servants I have known, going all the way back to my childhood days. I let my memory run free and started t More

Bestseller and More: Why I Believe in the Bible - Various

We begin with the simple observation that the Bible is the best-selling book of all time. More copies have been printed in more languages and read by more people than any other book in history. It is so far out in f More

Christ B.C. Part II: Lamb of God - Exodus 12; John 1:29

Christians everywhere recognize the lamb as a familiar biblical image. It is often connected with both Christmas and Easter. Though lambs aren't specifically mentioned in the Christmas story, they are implied by the More

The Right Stuff - Matthew 5:5

I clearly remember the first time the Beatitudes caught my attention. During the summer of 1980 Marlene and I traveled to Bogota, Columbia, to spend two weeks working with some missionaries we had met six years earli More

The Life That Wins - Philippians 1:19-26

This week I was browsing through my library and happened upon a book that I purchased 16 years ago called The University of Success, edited by a man named Og Mandino. As I flipped through the pages, I came to a discus 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

He Became Sin for Us: What the Cross Meant to Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:21

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is one of the most magnificent verses in the all the Bible. Spurgeon called More